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| A Note to Our Readers | |
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| A Tribute to Victor Cohn | |
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| Foreword | |
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| Condensed from the Foreword to the 1989 Edition | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Where We Can Do Better | |
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| The Challenge | |
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| Four Areas for Improvement | |
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| The Certainty of Uncertainty | |
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| The Scientific Method | |
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| Focusing on Medicine | |
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| Testing the Evidence | |
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| How to Search for the Truth | |
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| How Probable Is It? | |
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| Expect Some Unexpected Events | |
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| Appreciate the "Power" of Big Numbers | |
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| Eliminate Bias; Consider Alternate Explanations | |
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| Expect Variability | |
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| Putting a Human Face on Variability | |
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| What's a Good Study? | |
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| Experiments versus Seductive Anecdotes | |
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| Clinical Researchers at Work | |
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| Clinical Studies: How to Judge Them | |
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| Alternative Medicine | |
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| "Disease Detectives" at Work | |
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| Disease Outbreaks: What to Watch For | |
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| Questions You Can Ask | |
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| The Bottom Line | |
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| Tests and Testing: Measuring What Works | |
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| Patients' Tests | |
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| Drugs and Drug Trials | |
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| Animals as Stand-Ins for Us | |
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| Vital Statistics: Measuring Life and Health | |
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| The Key Role of Rates in Vital Statistics | |
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| Key Rates of Death and Disease | |
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| Crude Rates versus Rates That Compare | |
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| Putting Numbers on Risks | |
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| Two Cautions | |
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| Cancer Statistics | |
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| Shifts, Drifts, and Blips | |
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| Health Plans and Hospitals: Measuring Their Quality | |
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| Health Plans and Managed Care | |
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| Hospital Care Statistics | |
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| Our Environment and Measuring All Risks | |
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| Start with Some Key Questions | |
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| Evaluate What You've Learned | |
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| Know the Limits of Science | |
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| Questions to Evaluate Hazards | |
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| Questions to Evaluate Studies | |
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| Special Statistical Situations | |
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| Tips for Reporting Risks | |
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| Polls: Measuring What We Think | |
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| Polling with Care | |
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| Case Histories: Ventura, Reagan, and Bush | |
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| Other Poll-Watching Advice | |
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| Another Case History: Asking about Sex | |
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| Potential Perils of "Snowball Samples" | |
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| What Focus Groups Can and Can't Do | |
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| Politics, Your Pocketbook, and Plenty More | |
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| Statistical Shenanigans | |
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| Newsy Numbers on Numerous Fronts | |
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| This Book's Bottom Line | |
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| Quick-Reference Guides | |
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| Working the Web | |
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| Reporting a Disease Outbreak | |
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| Checklists for Studies and Polls | |
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| What Makes a Good Reporter? | |
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| Notes | |
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| Glossary | |
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| Bibliography | |
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| Index | |