A number of things influence a statistic's reliability. Priority one should be given to ensuring that the sample utilized to calculate the statistic is representative of the intended audience. If the sample is not representative of the population, the statistic cannot adequately reflect the population. Second, the sample size may also have an effect on the reliability of a statistic. More reliable statistics are usually produced by larger sample sizes since they provide more information about the population. It's important to consider the techniques used to collect the data and calculate the statistic. If the process of acquiring the data was flawed, or if the calculating method was biased, the statistic might not be accurate