Secondary sources data and statistics

November 2009Susan Mowers

Computer login:

user name: your uottawa email prefix, e.g., smowe021

password : yyddmmxx

Presentation (with links):

http://gsg.uottawa.ca/data/AAApresentation.ppt

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Outline

1) Secondary data in Research – Why use secondary data? – Library at your service: secondary data and statistics– And when should I use secondary data or statistics…?– How reliable are the statistics / data?

 2) Using StatCan DLI secondary sources

– Demographic/community statistics – Criminal justice statistics

• Juristat and related sources

• CCJS statistical tables

– Secondary data from Odesi • DLI and ICPSR data collections

• Five easy steps (GSS cycle 18) in Odesi

– Secondary data in SPSS• From Odesi to SPSS

D a t a

Why use secondary data?

Use data to test your research hypothesis: Does your hypothesis hold up …or not? What do the following data say about your hypothesis…

– DEMOGRAPHIC context : • WHO ? Your populations and communities • WHAT IS HAPPENING? social and historical trends

– Data on CRIME in society• WHAT IS HAPPENING ? Crime indicators

– WHERE is it happening? Putting together geography, crime and socio-economic indicators

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Welcome to Data Services

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DATA @ The library

GSGGeographic, Statistical and Government Info Centre

smowers@uottawa.ca

Morisset Library (third floor)

and data via …

GSG data services

We help …

• find data, statistics and documentation

• with technical support on using data and statistics

• with computerized mapping (GIS) support

• provide statistical and GIS software in Morisset 308

• with tools and training on using data

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When to use secondary data?

• Secondary data? Use data from many hundreds or thousands of observations for statistical analysis. Statistics? Statistics are a presentation-ready form of data. Use statistics for evidence to support descriptive statements about crime in society

• What’s the difference between data and statistics?

• www.biblio.uottawa.ca : Search Subject Data and Statistics

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Why are secondary data important?

“Data are unlike other tools of the research endeavour. They provide the raw material from which information and knowledge can be created. By their nature, data allow for exploration of topics of interest to the researcher. Unlike printed [or statistical] tables which, like a postcard, provide a picture of one view of a larger phenomenon, data can act as a camera, allowing the researcher to manipulate the background, change the foreground and more fully investigate the object under study.”

Watkins, Wendy, and Ernie Boyko, "Data Liberation and Academic Freedom" Government Information in

Canada/Information gouvernementale au Canada 3, no. 2 (1996). [http://www.usask.ca/library/gic/v3n2/watkins2/watkins2.html]

9Research Data Management Seminar, November 10, 2009

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Statistics can be presented in many ways, as…

- a table of numbers, - a few numbers in an article or Web site, ,- a graph, *

*see Graph types and …

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Are there any statistics on your Topic?

• Check official sources – they publish a lot of statistics!

• Note, the United Nations is not a recognized source for crime statistics … instead go to the country’s national statistical agency,

• In Canada, who is our national statistical agency….

• The Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) provides extensive data and statistics from the many hundreds of surveys carried out by our national statistical agency

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Criteria for evaluating Statistical Sources

• Who is collecting the data?

– What is their reputation for accuracy and objectivity ?

• Can you review their data and methodology? Does the provider make this information available?

• Who is the sponsor of the data collection?– What is their agenda?

• E.g., a political party, Elections Canada, or a car manufacturer all have specific agendas affecting “the message” and “the data”

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Where to go for Data?

CHECK OUT THESE TWO PUBLIC SOURCES FOR HOMICIDE STATISTICS…1) http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?ID=72

2) http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/081023/d081023a.htm

Who collected the data?

How was the data collected (methodology…)?

Who sponsored the collection &/or publication?

What was the sponsor’s mandate?

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*All information in this table dated before 1993 comes from the U.N. Demographic Yearbooks for 1993 and 1992. All information dated 1993 and thereafter comes from a draft study prepared for the U.N. Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice`s Vienna Session 28 April-9 May, 1997, except: a) the U.S. homicide figure comes from FBI preliminary data for 1996, and b) the Swiss homicide and suicide rates come from the Swiss national police.

Good luck with the fine print…!

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Using statistics for the first time…?

1) Writing with Statistics by Reuben Ternes.http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/672/01/

Summary: This handout explains how to write with statistics including quick tips, writing descriptive statistics, writing inferential statistics, and using visuals with statistics.

“In the casual sense, a statistic is any number that describes a group of objects.”

2) Introduction to the practice of statistics / David S. Moore, George P. McCabe and Bruce Craig.

MRT Reserve - MRT circulation desk QA 276.12 .M65 2009

3) http://www.statcan.ca/english/edu/power/toc/contents.htm

Assistance for getting the most from statistics.

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Where to find statistics?

– Know the

official agency site

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ARE THERE STATISTICS ON YOUR TOPIC? (A) impact of violent crime,

(B) child abuse and its impact… via two basic sources from Statistics Canada…

Juristat Annual statistical reports on crime, homicide,

impaired driving, justice system AND

additional special topics of interest.

The DailyNews stories on Canada's latest socioeconomic

and health trends, including backfiles to 1995

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Survey for numbers on…TOPIC A : Impact of violent crime on victims ?

SOURCE: Juristat: Browse publications on

Crime and justice

and from list of “pubns”,

select …

• Juristat FOR

TOPIC ABOVE* (hint,

“2007”)

Looking for Statistics

FIND ANSWERS …

-- What is the source? What is the youngest age covered?

- How current is this information? How long did it take from year of data collection to

Publication of this article?

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Survey for numbers on…TOPIC B : Child abuse and neglect and its impact

SOURCE: The Daily: 1) Go to The Daily,

2) Type child abuse then click

the Search The Daily button,

3) Select “The Daily, Thursday, June

28, 2001. Family violence: focus on

child abuse and children at risk”

Looking for statistics

ROW 3 -- Would you say there are statisticson the impact of child abuse based on this

article in The Daily?

ROW 4 – At bottom of article, Click on the cited “Family violence in Canada: A statistical

profile 2001 (85-224-XIE”. Would you say there are statistics on the impact of child abuse based on this

Statistical profile?

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TOPIC A) What is the source for these statistical findings? (or what is the “GSS”?)

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TOPIC B) Sight and zero in takes a couple of steps…

And click on… at end of article

This 2001 profile has extensive statistics on child abuse and neglect

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Crime and Justice sources

From Surveys (“samples” of population)General Social Survey, VictimizationNational Longitudinal Survey of Children and YouthEthnic Diversity SurveyAboriginal Peoples SurveyInternational Youth Survey (in Canada, Toronto)http://www.statcan.ca/cgi-bin/spider/dli.cgi

DLI Contact: Smowers@uottawa.ca

From Administrative data (“all” population)(Uniform Crime Report, Homicide Survey, Vital statistics…)

Background socio-economic informationCensus of Population (“all” population)

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WHERE TO Look

(we have used …)

• Statistics Canada and the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS)

• The Daily (popular media audience)• Regular publications e.g., Juristat• Statistical tables – (1) Profile series (index page) and

(2) Justice tables (more advanced)• Analytical studies, including

Crime and Justice Research Series (index). Search Analytical studies by topic

• Justice Canada (A-Z subject list: see Research and Statistics Reports)

• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) – U.S., also international

• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

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WHERE TO LOOK(Note also…)

• Statistics Canada and the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (CCJS)

• The Daily (popular media audience)• Regular publications e.g., Juristat• Statistical tables – (1) Profile series (index page) and

(2) Justice tables (more advanced)• Analytical studies, including Crime and Justice Research

Series (index). Search Analytical studies by topic

• Justice Canada (A-Z subject list: see Research and Statistics Reports)

• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) – U.S., also international

• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

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1) YOU NEED A FEW STATISTICS ON YOUR TOPIC

http://cansim2.statcan.ca/cgi-win/cnsmcgi.pgm?Lang=E&CORCmd=GetTList&ResultTemplate=Srch1

Or from http://www.statcan.ca

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Here are a several subjects covered by Statistics Canada directly related to crime and justice …

Exercises

• Make sure Internet Explorer is your browser, not Mozilla Firefox

– DEMOGRAPHIC context : • WHO ? Your populations and communities • WHAT IS HAPPENING? social and historical trends

– We will use: COMMUNITY PROFILES 2006 and copy and paste into Excel…

– Data on CRIME in society• WHAT IS HAPPENING ? Crime indicators

– We will use CCJS detailled offenses by Census Metropolitan Areas and and copy and paste into Excel…

– WHERE is it happening? Putting together geography, crime and socio-economic indicators … GSS cycle 18 2004, Victimization

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Web resources on Data and Statistics

Statistics from Census Metropolitan Areas : median income, crime, average age…

• www.biblio.uottawa.ca

• Go to: Population and demographic statistics on Library siteCommunity Profiles

• CCJS Criminal Justice Tables

http://gsg.uottawa.ca/data/cma.ivt

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Data Research and Access - 5 Easy Steps