Lies and Statistics . . .
Thought I must confess to having a mathematical mind, I have to say I was inflamed somewhat by the GCN "survey" of readers back in June. While I have to admit that I threw out the paper a while ago and couldn't get my hands on a copy, I was mildly annoyed by some of the findings which were published without questioning why they were likely to be the case. Even my Open University undergraduate Maths course taught me that its important, when looking at a case study, to assess some of the reasons why certain findings are the case.
Take, for example, the likely readership of GCN. The vast majority of copies of GCN are distributed via what is commonly known as the "scene" - the loosely connected network of commercial entities and community outlets that serve the segments of the gay "community" that are publicly "out." You won't get it in your local Centra. So this immediately excludes a vast number of potential gay people who either live …
Take, for example, the likely readership of GCN. The vast majority of copies of GCN are distributed via what is commonly known as the "scene" - the loosely connected network of commercial entities and community outlets that serve the segments of the gay "community" that are publicly "out." You won't get it in your local Centra. So this immediately excludes a vast number of potential gay people who either live …