Epäadekvaatisti

Epäadekvaatisti is a Finnish term used in statistics and public discourse to describe a person who uses statistics or statistical arguments in an inadequate or misleading way. The term is often employed critically to flag methods that are unsound, results that are misinterpreted, or data presented with bias or insufficient transparency. While not a formal technical designation, epäadekvaatisti appears in journalistic writing, opinion pieces, and some academic discussions as a shorthand for flawed statistical reasoning.

Etymology and usage: The word is built from the negating prefix epä- and the stem adekvaatti (adequate), with the agentive suffix -isti forming a noun that denotes a person or practice. Epäadekvaatisti is used to label arguments, claims, or speakers rather than to diagnose a person clinically. In usage, epäadekvaatisti refers to individuals, statements, or methodological approaches that do not meet basic standards of statistical adequacy, such as insufficient data, opaque methods, or biased interpretation.

Common indicators include overgeneralization from small samples, p-hacking, cherry-picking data, inappropriate benchmarks, misinterpreting correlation as causation, failure to report uncertainty (confidence intervals, effect sizes), and ignoring prior evidence or alternative explanations.

Criticism and context: The label should be used with caution to avoid stifling legitimate debate or unfairly discrediting difficult analyses. Proponents view it as a useful warning against misleading claims, particularly in public discourse, policy debates, and data journalism. The term is most commonly encountered in Finnish media, social science discussions, and discussions about data literacy.

See also: statistical literacy, misuse of statistics, data journalism, p-hacking.