Why have people lost trust in data and indices? (3)

Indices should be released under certain constraints

"We found that some indices are not unscientific in designing and sampling, which is, to a large extent, resulted from the poor quality of researchers," Zhang Yi said.

"In China, few of talents specialize in statistical analysis but the indices and research reports are everywhere. Many of them are concluded by the people who had never learnt the statistical theory."

In the developed Europe and the United States, the indices are made by professional agencies and talents with statistical qualification so the results are accurate and credible. Currently, China has not an official standard for the data dissemination and the academic community also failed to reach an agreement, leading to the phenomenon of indiscriminately releasing indices, said Zhang.

Disputable data and indices in the recent period

- The "Report on People's Livelihood of China 2012" published by the Peking University shows that the average housing area per family was 116.4 square meters and the per capita housing area is 36 square meters in China in 2011.

- The director of the Social Development Research Institute under the Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission Yang Yiyong said that the national rejuvenation index of China was 0.6274 in 2010, meaning China had completed 62 percent of its national rejuvenation mission. The index was much higher than that of 2005 (0.4644).

- The "Financial Research Report on Families of China " published by the Southwest University of Finance and Economics said that the current family housing owning rate of China is as high as about 90 percent, much higher than the average level of the world (the United States: 65 percent; the United Kingdom: 70 percent; Japan: 60 percent). The total net assets of families of China are about 70 trillion U.S. dollars, 21 percent higher than that of families of the United States (about 57 trillion U.S. dollars).

- The "Urbanization Roads of China and World" by the Institute of Policy and Management under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that the harmony indices of Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin rank top three in China. Especially, the harmony index of Beijing is the highest (0.79), making Beijing the "most harmonious city" and "most livable city" of China.

- The "Survey on Sense of Happiness of Chinese Families 2011" jointly carried out by the China Population Communication Center and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences shows that 70 percent of interviewees said they are happy.

Read the Chinese version at: “脑残数据”“雷人指数”咋这么多 , Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition, Author: Zou Yating