Challenges measuring crime worldwide
Feb 01, 2012 12:52 am • Permalink You would think that something so concrete, carefully recorded by authorities, wouldn't be too tough to tabulate, even if at a large scale. Not so.
Homicide is a "serious crime that many people are concerned with, it is well-measured, and it is to a large degree well-reported and -recorded," says Alfred Blumstein, a criminologist at Carnegie Mellon University. "That is not to say that there aren't a variety of ways for fudging the measurement."
Among the factors that cloud homicide numbers: gaps between police-reported numbers and counts by public-health organizations. The discrepancy is wide in many African countries and some Caribbean ones. The United Nations attributes the disparity to several factors, including definitional differences—whether honor killings should count—a lack of public-health infrastructure in some countries, and undercounting—possibly deliberate—by police.
I think this is something the common public often doesn't understand about data. The numbers are entered and analyzed on a computer, so it's easy to mistake data for mechanical output. It must be accurate, right? That's usually not the case though, especially when it comes to data collection outside a controlled lab setting.
The game always changes when humans are involved. Not everyone responds to surveys, definitions of events vary across organizations, estimation methods change every year, and the list goes on.
For those who do stuff with data, you have to deal with that uncertainty, and as data consumers, you have to remember that numbers don't automatically mean fact.
[Wall Street Journal]
Sponsor: Pinpoint the best city in the world (with data) and win $10K
Jan 31, 2012 06:00 am • Permalink Thanks to BuzzData for sponsoring the FlowingData feed this week.
Economist Intelligence Unit and BuzzData launch competition challenging data-savvy readers to analyze and rank the world's cities
THE COMPETITION:
The EIU's Global Liveability Report ranks 140 cities worldwide based on factors such as stability, healthcare, education and infrastructure. Its data-driven analysis sparks debate on urban issues globally. Its Worldwide Cost of Living Index uses the prices of products and services to compare the cost of living in 140 world cities.
Now the EIU wants to hear your views on what makes a city great. Is it considering the right factors? In your opinion, which ones has it overlooked? The EIU is releasing its liveability data on BuzzData.com and challenging anyone to mine, mix and mash it up to create fresh perspectives on what makes a city truly great.
The winner will receive $10,000 for proving where the best city in the world is using data and a visualisation.
The EIU and BuzzData will be accepting submissions for the Best City in the World competition until March 4, 2012. Submission guidelines and further details can be found at http://buzzdata.com/best-city-contest.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION ON TWITTER AT #BestCityContest
WATCH THE CONTEST GUIDE VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/35770448
Press inquiries and other questions can be sent to contest@buzzdata.com
No comments:
Post a Comment