What is the recommended practice when numbers and percentages are involved to avoid inconsistency?

What is the recommended practice when numbers and percentages are involved to avoid inconsistency?

• A. Adjust the sample size to match percentages.
• B. Percentages must align with counts; revise to '600 male and 400 female' or adjust percentages to sum to 100%.
• C. Ignore mismatches if the result is significant.
• D. Change the sample size.

Answer: (B)

Numbers and percentages must be consistent because percentages are calculated from the counts. The correct approach is to ensure they align by deriving percentages from the actual counts or by adjusting the counts to match the given percentages, so both show the same total. For example, 600 male and 400 female add up to 1,000, which should be reported as 60% male and 40% female. If you report percentages that don’t sum to 100% or don’t correspond to the counts, the data mislead and confuse readers. Minor rounding differences are okay, but they should not obscure the relationship between counts and percentages. Changing the total sample size to force a match is not appropriate, nor is ignoring mismatches.

Numbers and percentages must be consistent because percentages are calculated from the counts. The correct approach is to ensure they align by deriving percentages from the actual counts or by adjusting the counts to match the given percentages, so both show the same total. For example, 600 male and 400 female add up to 1,000, which should be reported as 60% male and 40% female. If you report percentages that don’t sum to 100% or don’t correspond to the counts, the data mislead and confuse readers. Minor rounding differences are okay, but they should not obscure the relationship between counts and percentages. Changing the total sample size to force a match is not appropriate, nor is ignoring mismatches.