Sample set makes a real difference in what a study says. For example, take this headline from a press release from the University of Bath, being reprinted in places like Science Daily:
Over a third of former American Football players interviewed had sexual relations with men, says study
Wow. That says a lot about the reality of homosexuality in the perceived macho enclaves of America. If one-third of randomly chosen American football players have had… wait, random? Well, there were some conditions put on it. Go a few paragraphs in and you find:
The 47 men, aged 18-23, were all American Football players who previously played at the high school (secondary school) level but had failed to be picked for their university’s team and were now cheerleaders instead.
(emphasis added). Somehow, the headline of “One third of current male cheerleaders interviewed have had sexual relations with men” wouldn’t have been quite so eye-grabbing.
