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TPS的編輯教授在此歡迎關於學術文章的所有詢問，當然，其實他並沒有足夠的時間給你。他擁有終身教職的教授身份，也是著名的學術巨作作者。即便如此，他仍大方地接受你們的詢問。將關於學術方面的詢問寫在下方，你將獲得教授的親自指導，陶冶對學術的探索與啟發。
The professor awaits your query on academic writing, though in all honesty, he doesn’t have a lot of time for you. He is a tenured full professor and working on yet another magnificent academic tome. Even so, he has graciously consented to entertain your question. Submit it and prepare to be edified.

QUESTION: I always include statistics when I can to prove different points of a paper, because the numbers sometimes tell the story better than words can. How do I know when I have overused statistics in a paper?
問：我寫論文時，常用統計數字論證文章討論的差異，因為有時候數字比文字解釋更清楚。我該怎麼判斷自己在論文裡是不是用了太多統計數字？

One cannot address this subject without rolling out the truism about statistics, namely, that there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. The inference is, of course, that while hard numbers might seem straight-forward fact, when misused, numbers can be as misleading as any stated falsehood. For example, an imbalanced sampling can produce numbers skewed one way or the other. Or a false cause-and-effect relationship might be deduced from raw data, either from error or on purpose. Statistics unquestionably do not tell a whole story when they are used mischievously.
討論統計時一定會碰上這句眾所皆知的名言：「謊言、該死的謊言，統計」。當然，這句話是說，具體的數字看起來可能是明白的事實，但若是誤用，數字也會造成誤導，成為謊言。例如，抽樣不公會使結果扭曲，原始數據也可能推斷出錯誤的因果關係，這些錯誤可能是無意的，也可能是有意的。顯然統計數字若未慎用，便無法呈現事實的全貌。

So how often should you employ statistics in an academic paper? As often as the numbers can honestly advance or bolster an argument. That is the purpose of every argumentative device employed by a writer in a paper, to persuade the reader of the worth of an argument. Yet you are right to fear that too much of a good thing can detract from, rather than add to, the overall effort to persuade. At some point, numbers piled on numbers begin to look like padding. After all, academic papers are exercises in written communication, not statistical round-ups.
所以，學術論文應該用多少統計數字呢？只要數字能實實在在地改善或加強論點就沒問題，一如作者在論文中使用的每項論證工具，都是為了讓讀者相信論點的重要。不過，你的考量沒錯，好工具過度使用，確實可能減損說服力，而非增加說服力。數字層層堆疊，到了某種程度看起來就像在充版面。畢竟，學術文章應該要用文字溝通，不應堆砌統計數字。

The other misstep in using statistics concerns interpretation. Some data need no interpretation beyond a succinct restatement. Other compiled numbers need restating in some detail to reinforce the import of the numbers or to ensure that the reader grasps their meaning. (If even more explanation is needed, a footnoted table probably is the wiser choice.) Where some writers err is in misinterpreting numbers or in applying them too generally to make a case. A pertinent reminder: The professor reading a paper is apt to be as statistically conversant as the writer.
使用統計數字另一個錯誤則和解釋有關，有些數據只需要簡潔重述，不需要解釋，有些整理後的數據則需要詳加闡述，強調數據的重要性，讓讀者把握數字意涵（如果這樣解釋還不夠，使用表格並在下方加註或許會更理想）。有時作者詮釋數據失當，有時為了解釋又過分推論。請切記，閱讀論文的教授，往往和作者一樣精通統計。