ARTICLE ABOUT ETHICAL ISSUES OF STATISTICS
By: Dominique R. Columna
Statistics play a very important role in almost everything. It does help any business sector to study on how
the market is and with the data gathered, they can strategize properly on what actions they need to take
in order for their company to grow.
One example is in entertainment. Let’s take ABS–CBN’s television programs, these are judged through
ratings to determine which show is most preferred by viewers and because of this, producers can either
extend the program or spend more money in special effects or introduce a new actor for exposure. These
ratings also help other companies, say for example, Jollibee to know the best time to present their
commercials, as well as their marketing group to study how catchy their commercials will be. ABS-CBN on
the other hand will also able to set a higher price at these time slots, since a high percentage of viewers
are present at this time. This means that in just a television rating, companies are able to make a game
plan on how they can boost their sales and profit.
The data from these ratings however are believed to be gathered through surveys in specific areas. The
problem is, what if these areas are only able to get access for one network and totally unfamiliar with the
