Abstract
A LITTLE book on statistics by so well-known an authority as Prof. Bowley is sure of a welcome from the educated public. In these times, when copious reports are issued by many Government departments, it is not only interesting, but also necessary, to appreciate fully the significance and limitations of official statistics. This is admittedly difficult, and it is with the view of steering the uninitiated through the mass of detail which necessarily obscures the real value of statistical information that Prof. Bowley has written this little book. A brief account is given of the more important reports and papers published officially in recent years containing statistics of general interest. The use of reports is illustrated by collecting details scattered throughout such a volume as the Report on Pauperism and retabulating them so as to show how the various tables are connected. In all cases exact references have been given to the original documents.. The scope of the volume is well indicated by the chapter headings, four in number: population; industry, trade, and prices; income and wages; and social conditions.
Official Statistics.
Prof.
A. L.
Bowley
By. (The World of To-day.) Pp. 63. (London: Humphrey Milford: Oxford University Press, 1921.) 2s. 6d.
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Official Statistics . Nature 107, 549 (1921). https://doi.org/10.1038/107549a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/107549a0