Library Instruction session for October 2013 on finding and understanding statistics

1. WRIT 1301: Composition 1
Finding & Understanding Statistical
Sources
Clarke Iakovakis
Research & Instruction
Librarian
iakovakis@uhcl.edu
This work is licensed by Clarke
Iakovakis under a
Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike 4.0 International
License.

2. Please turn
your clicker ON

3. Which of these products was associated with the
greatest number of injuries in 2012 in the United
States?
Toilets
Lawnmowers
Skateboards
Drinking glasses
Fireworks
Injury designed by Olivier Guin from the Noun
Project

4. Which of these products was associated with
the greatest number of injuries in 2012?
• Toilets – 103,535
• Lawnmowers – 83,574
• Skateboards – 114,120
• Drinking glasses – 78,852
• Fireworks – 8,658
Source: Consumer Product
Safety Commission
Retrieved from ProQuest
Statistical Abstract of the
United States
Link

6. Bookmark these useful webpages
Library
Homepage
www.uhcl.ed
u
/library
Course guide
WRIT 1301
libguides.uhcl.e
edu/WRIT1301se
ahorn
New Student’s
Guide to the
Library
http://libguides.
uhcl.edu/hawks

7. Understanding
Statistics
Evaluating
Statistics
Searching for
Statistics
Objectives for today

8. Section 1: Understanding Statistics

9. What are statistics?
• The systematic collection and arrangement of numerical facts or
data of any kind
• The branch of science or mathematics concerned with the analysis
and interpretation of numerical data and appropriate ways of
gathering such data
"statistics, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2014. Web. 23 September 2014.

10. Data vs. Statistics example:
What is your eye color?
Brown
Blue
Gray
Green
Other
• What is the total count?
• Which is the most common eye color in the
class? Least common?
• What percent have brown eyes?
CC-BY image “Eye”,
courtesy kev-shine on
Flickr

11. Data vs. Statistics: What’s the difference?
Data
• Collected as part of a study
• CSV or Excel files, XML, databases
• Contain individual observations
• Come with documentation to
help understand
• Used as the “raw ingredients” for
generating statistics
Statistics
• Results of data analysis
• Tables, charts, maps, graphs
• May describe what the data shows
• Frequency
• Mean
• Median
• May go beyond the immediate
data to find inferences
• Regression
• Analysis of variance

12. Statistics
or data?
Statistics
Data
Houston Police Department. (2014). May 2014 monthly uniform crime report by street. Retrieved from
http://www.houstontx.gov/police/cs/xls/may14.xls.

13. Statistics
or data?
Statistics
Data
Houston Police Department. (2014). May 2014 monthly uniform crime report city-wide
summary. Retrieved from http://mycity.houstontx.gov/crime/ucrPage.aspx.

14. The Elements of Statistics
• What is being measured (the unit of observation)?
• Individual eye color
• Household income?
• Change in average global temperature
• Pay attention to the unit of measurement
• What is the space in which the data was collected?
• Political (Houston)
• Geographic (Gulf coast)
• A particular location (The Galleria mall)
• What is the time period?
• 10 years ago? Today? Snapshot vs. across time (“longitudinal”)? Future?

16. Identify the Unit of Observation,
the Space, and the Time
Time
Unit of
observation Space

17. Which state executed the most prisoners in
the last 35 years (1977-2011)?
Texas
Florida
Oklahoma
Virginia
Colorado
Jury designed by Luis Prado from the Noun
Project

18. Which state executed the most prisoners in
the last 35 years (1977-2011)?
• Texas – 477
• Florida - 71
• Oklahoma - 96
• Virginia - 109
• Colorado - 1
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics
Retrieved from Statistical Abstract of
the United States
Link

19. Identify the Unit of Observation, the Space,
and the Time
In 2013, 41% of all executions in the USA took
place in Texas
Source: Amnesty International. (2014). Death sentences and executions 2013. Retrieved from
https://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/act500012014en.pdf
Time
Unit of
observation
Space

20. Identify the Unit of
Observation, the Space,
and the Time
Time
Unit of
observation
Space
Source: Pew Research Center. (2014). Shrinking
majority of Americans support death penalty.
Retrieved from ProQuest Statistical Insight

21. Section 2: Evaluating Statistics

22. “Do you really know what you’re doing,
xkcd. Duty Calls. http://xkcd.com/386/
or do you Google-search know?”
Smaller, B. The New Yorker, vol. 90, no. 20 (July 21, 2014), p.26
CC BY-NC-ND image courtesy Will Lion on Flickr

23. Intellectual Standards
• Clarity
• Relevance
• Fairly gathered &
reported
• Accuracy
• Currency reasons,
evidence

24. Section 3: Searching for Statistics

25. Sources for statistics
• Studies & research reports by non-governmental
organizations
• Official statistics collected by the government
• Polling organizations
• Peer reviewed journal articles
• Textbooks & encyclopedias
• Newspapers & magazines (both print and online)

27. Off campus access to subscription
databases
2001234567
If you have problems accessing
resources from off campus, call
the Reference Desk
281-283-3910

28. Feedback please!

29. Please turn
your clicker
OFF

30. To contact a Librarian