Martin wrote:
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:35:27 +0100, Tom Gardner
wrote:

Martin wrote:
On Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:24:30 +0100, David Hill
wrote:


Nine out of 10 urine samples from people in Malta contained traces of
the weed killer glyphosate, laboratory tests carried out by Friends of
the Earth Malta show.

The results in Malta are mirrored in results across Europe – with 45 per
cent of samples from the 10 volunteers in each of the18 countries found
to contain traces of the chemical.

Do you really believe that 10 volunteers is a valid sample size?

That reads as 10*18=180 volunteers.

In 18 countries with a population of 300 million. You find that
significant.

180 is potentially *far* more significant than 10.

The 300 million is, as I'm sure you are aware, a red herring.

You don't use volunteers for such tests, you pick people randomly and
you pick a sufficient number to make the result representative of the
population and statistically significant.

Very little can be read into the word "volunteer", especially
since the report is written by non-native speakers of English.

It would, of course, be unethical if they had been "coerced"
into taking part

And see my parenthetical statement below, of course.


Not quite. It is sufficient to try to get funding for a larger study.

Nobody with any sense would take any notice of this so called study.

People should take the right amount of notice, no more, no less.


Nobody in his right mind would fund a Friend of the Earth Study.

Close to an ad hominem attack.


(Assuming of course that there was no significant bias when selecting
the volunteers).

How can you make such an assumption?

What makes you think I am assuming anything about bias?


No point in being concerned, yet, unless you are a Daily Wail reader.

I find the whole thing is typical Friends of the Earth nonsense.

Close to an ad hominem attack.

Well, their heart is often in the right place, even if their
thinking is wooly headed.

Despite your attitude, I suspect we actually agree on
the substantive issues.