Statistics as Organizational Products

Thomas, Ray

doi:10.5153/sro.36

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…What links all the chapters in this book is not the theme of an encyclopaedic review of of®cial information but a view that this information, how and why it is collected and disseminated is itself a re¯ection on society. This has been argued elsewhere (Thomas, 1996), but here the point is illustrated and reinforced chapter by chapter. The book articulates the view of`Radical Statistics' who believe that counting things is not enough (indeed they express the view that the Government often counts things to create the illusion of action), but that what information is available should be used to change things for the better.…”

Section: Philip Young University Of Yorksupporting

confidence: 51%

Book Reviews

2000

J Royal Statistical Soc D

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Books Reviewed: Abdi, H., Valentin, D. and Edelman, B. Neural Networks Aven, T. and Jensen, U. Stochastic Models in Reliability Bradley, W. J. and Schaefer, C. K. The Uses and Misuses of Data and Models Chiles, J. P. and Delfiner, P. Geostatistics—Modeling Spatial Uncertainty Dette, H. and Studden, W. J. The Theory of Canonical Moments with Applications in Statistics, Probability, and Analysis Dorling, D. and Simpson, S. (eds) Statistics in Society: the Arithmetic of Politics Everitt, B. S. and Wykes, T. A Dictionary of Statistics for Psychologists Hahn, B. D. Essential MATLAB for Scientists and Engineers Jordan, M. I. Learning in Graphical Models Kanji, G. K. 100 Statistical Tests Lawson, A., Biggeri, A., Bohning, D., Lesaffre, E., Viel, J.‐F. and Bertollini, R. (eds) Disease Mapping and Risk Assessment for Public Health Lindsey, J. K. Revealing Statistical Principles Lloyd, C. J. Statistical Analysis of Categorical Data Matyas, L. (ed.) Generalized Method of Moments Estimation Rabe‐Hesketh, S. and Everitt, B. A Handbook of Statistical Analyses using Stata Voelkl, K. E. and Gerber, S. B. Using SPSS for Windows—Data Analysis and Graphics

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Section: Philip Young University Of Yorksupporting

confidence: 51%

Book Reviews

2000

J Royal Statistical Soc D

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“…The potential for the secondary analysis of numeric data is huge. From a nation's population census to snap‐shot public opinion polls about the outcome of televised talent show competitions: ‘nearly every important area of activity and attitude in the British population has now been the focus of a major national survey’ (Thomas, 1996, p. 3). Secondary analysis also has a well‐established pedigree.…”

Section: The Use Of Secondary Data Analysis In Educational and Socmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pitfalls and Promises: The Use of Secondary Data Analysis in Educational Research

Smith¹

2008

British Journal of Educational Studies

106

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This paper considers the use of secondary data analysis in educational research. It addresses some of the promises and potential pitfalls that influence its use and explores a possible role for the secondary analysis of numeric data in the 'new' political arithmetic tradition of social research. Secondary data analysis is a relatively under-used technique in Education and in the social sciences more widely, and it is an approach that is not without its critics. Here we consider two main objections to the use of secondary data: that it is full of errors and that because of the socially constructed nature of social data, simply reducing it to a numeric form cannot fully encapsulate its complexity. However, secondary data also offers numerous methodological, theoretical and pedagogical benefits. Indeed by treating secondary data analysis with appropriate scepticism and respect for its limitations, by demanding that tacit assumptions about the unreliability of secondary data are applied equally to other research methods, and crucially by combining secondary data analysis with small-scale in-depth work, this paper argues for a return to prominence of secondary data analysis in its own right as well as becoming a central component of the new political arithmetic tradition of social research.

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“…Thomas 1996). Darauf weist auch die prinzipielle Schwierigkeit oder gar Unmög-lichkeit des internationalen Vergleichs hin.…”

Section: Die Arbeitslosenstatistik Als Beispielunclassified

Amtliche Statistik, Sichtbarkeit und die Herstellung von Verfügbarkeit

Kohler

2008

BJfS

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Zusammenfassung: Dieser Aufsatz untersucht die programmatische Dimension ("Normalerzählung") der gesellschaftlichen Institution der amtlichen Statistik und identifiziert die beiden Konzepte der Sichtbarkeit und Verfügbarkeit als Grundprinzipien der modernen amtlichen Statistik. Während die protostatistischen Quantifizierungsversuche bis zum 18. Jahrhundert noch als "Sichtbarkeit ohne Verfügbarkeit" zu beschreiben sind, entsteht mit der Institutionalisierung der amtlichen Statistik im 19. Jahrhundert eine enge Kopplung der beiden Grundprinzipien, die bis in die 1970er und 1980er Jahre in statistischen Sichtbarkeitsregimen unterschiedlicher Reichweite und Tiefe weitgehend ungebrochen erscheint. Gegen Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts werden jedoch diese Prinzipien infrage gestellt, was in diesem Aufsatz als Indiz für eine reflexive Modernisierung der amtlichen Statistik interpretiert wird. Diese Entwicklung wird abschließend anhand empirischer Beispiele aus dem Diskurs der Arbeitslosenstatistik illustriert.Schlüsselwörter: Statistik · Quantifizierung · Arbeitslosigkeit · reflexive Modernisierung · Gouvernementalität Abstract: This essay analyses the programmatic dimension ("Normalerzählung" or "normal account") of official statistics as a social institution and identifies the two concepts of visibility ("Sichtbarkeit") and availability ("Verfügbarkeit") as basic principles of modern official statistics. Up to the 18th Century, the proto-statistical attempts at the quantification of the social can still be described as producing "visibility without availability". But with the birth of official statistics as an institution in 19th Century the two basic principles are closely coupled. This coupling in statistic visibility regimes of different ranges and depths appears to be unbroken up to the 1970s and 1980s. Towards the end of the 20th Century, however, these principles are increasingly put to the question. This article argues that this can be interpreted as an indication of a reflexive modernization of the official statistics. These developments will finally be illustrated by empirical examples from the public discourse of unemployment statistics.Résumé: Cet article étudie la dimension programmatique ("récit normal") de l'institution sociale de la statistique officielle et identifie les deux concepts de visibilité et de disponibilité comme principes fondamentaux de la statistique officielle moderne. Tandis qu'il convient de décrire les tentatives de quantification protostatistiques jusqu'au 18ème siècle comme "visibilité sans disponibilité", un couplage étroit de ces deux principes fondamentaux s'établit avec l'institutionnalisation de la statistique officielle au 19ème siècle qui se manifeste sans fléchir dans des régimes de visibilité statistiques de portées et de profondeurs diverses jusque dans les années 1970 et 1980. Ces principes sont cependant remis en question vers la fin du 20ème siècle ce que nous interprétons dans cet article comme indice d'une modernisation réflexive de la statistique officielle. En conclusion,...

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Statistics as Organizational Products

Cited by 9 publications

References 12 publications

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Pitfalls and Promises: The Use of Secondary Data Analysis in Educational Research

Amtliche Statistik, Sichtbarkeit und die Herstellung von Verfügbarkeit

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