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How to read tables and percentages

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A percentage describes answers to a specific question, not the likelihood of a result for the reader. Anecdotes and descriptive polls do not establish causation or clinical efficacy.

  • Start with the question and response count.
  • Then read the count and share for each answer.
  • Different tables may describe different respondent groups.

Start with the denominator

The denominator is the response total behind a percentage. The general-information pages use 1642 responses for age, 983 for gender, and 604 for species used. These are different calculation bases, not efficacy measures.

  • Project participation is not the response count for every question.
  • Find the denominator separately for each table.

Counts and shares

A percentage is the count choosing an answer divided by all responses to that question, multiplied by 100. The same percentage can represent very different numbers of responses.

  • Read the percentage alongside the absolute count.
  • Rounding can slightly change the displayed total of shares.

Why tables differ

Questions were added gradually, and respondents did not answer an identical set. Do not add counts across tables as if they represented separate people, or assume every table describes one fixed sample.

  • Compare question wording and answer options.
  • A missing answer does not mean no change occurred.

What percentages cannot show

The poll reflects reports from people who chose to participate and answer. It does not estimate the same experience for everyone or isolate expectations and other circumstances.

  • A descriptive share is not a clinical prediction.
  • A large response count alone does not remove methodological limits.
Count

How many answers fall into the selected category.

Denominator

All responses to this particular question.

Percentage

The category share within that denominator.

Sources

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