hlabc statistics bootcamp 2013
DESCRIPTION
Making sense of statistics at the reference desk.TRANSCRIPT
MAKING SENSE OF STATISTICS AT THE REFERENCE DESK
Write down a statistical question that you’d like help answering
MAKING SENSE OF STATISTICS AT THE REFERENCE DESK
ANDREA CAMERON CARLA GRAEBNER SYLVIA ROBERTS
Health Libraries Association of BC June, 2013
SESSION GOALS:
Increase confidence and understanding in answering statistical queries Learn the difference between data and stats Share in effective strategies and tools to find the right source Key (and free) Canadian and international statistical sources Answer actual stats questions!!!
STATISTICAL TRIVIA
Highest alcohol consumption per capita: Spain, Estonia or Canada?
Estonia! (OECD factbook)
Do more Canadians have cats or dogs as pets? Cats! (WSPA report)
How much has the value of the gluten-free retail market increased in Canada between 2011 and 2012? 2%? 5%? 10%?
10%! (Agri-foods Canada)
More people have a mobile phone than a toothbrush: True or False?
TRUE! (although difficult to verify) (MMA)
DATA VS STATISTICS
DATA •Facts or figures* from which conclusions can be drawn •Numeric files created and organized
– for analysis, or to create a new table –require processing
•Includes geographic data
–(to make maps)
STATISTICS Statistics are processed data, or data that have been analyzed in some way Generally used to support an argument or position in a study or report Presentation ready
DATA OR STATISTICS? STATISTICS OR DATA?
RAW OR COOKED?
GBD HEATMAP How do different health challenges rank across countries? Rank and compare causes and risks in different countries based on deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs by age group and sex.
CANSIM Updated continuously Free / Fee based Access via Statistics Canada Website* or licensed through CHASS @ the University of Toronto Data statistics, no analysis
JURISDICTIONS AND DIMENSIONS
THE BUILDING BLOCKS Basic methods for gathering statistics: Census: Census of Canada Survey: Canadian Community Health Survey; Twenty Years of Student Sexual Behavior (2004) Administrative data: Vital Statistics-Birth Database;
Image credit: jassijava bricks on flickr
CAN YOU TRUST THE NUMBERS?
Image credit: Wikipedia
AND MORE RECENTLY
WHO MIGHT GATHER THESE STATS?
International infant mortality
Cost of rent in Lethbridge
Drinking fountains in Vancouver
Tobacco use among Canadians
Teen Internet Gambling
Midwifery Industry
Pharmaceutical sales from drug stores
Primary school enrollment in Ghana
SOURCES BY CATEGORY Official
Inter-governmental
United Nations
World Bank
IMF
WHO
Governmental
Federal
Statistics Canada
Health Canada
Provincial
BC stats
Provincial Health
Authorities
Municipal
Metro Vancouver Statistics
Unofficial
Non-Profit
Think Tanks
Trade / Professional Associations
NGOs
Academic Research
Commercial
Euromonitor
EIU
IMS Health
FOLLOW THE DATA… Data re-use at the Provincial level
THE REFERENCE INTERVIEW
THE REFERENCE INTERVIEW
Intent
Content
Constraints
What do they want to do
with the info?
Use in a report: they
need statistics!
Can you find an existing
table/ graphic/map?
Yes? Done! No? Can one be generated
in a database?
Yes? Done! No? Perhaps someone else
can help
Analyze or map: they need data!
Can you find an appropriate,
accessible data source?
Yes? Done! No? Perhaps someone else
can help
Intent
CONTENT
CONSTRAINTS
Geography Time
Particular
Measures Outputs
YOUR TURN! A bewildered patron has been wandering the halls, asking that SOMEONE please help her find some numbers …can you?
Image credit: AlexanderDrachmann on Flickr
SECONDARY SOURCES AS SHORTCUTS
SECONDARY SOURCES AS SHORTCUTS
News articles Citations from research sources (books, articles, reports) Statistical yearbooks, abstracts, almanacs Library and organizational metaguides Organizational sites with specialized data
FAST STATS! STATISTICAL COMPENDIA
META GUIDES
Off Stats (University of Aukland) Statistics Canada’s external links Library guides, e.g. York University Finding medical / health care statistics online (Dean’s wiki)
STATISTICS CANADA – A BRIEF TOUR
WHAT CAN WE FIND IN STATISTICS CANADA
AS SUPPORT FOR OUR DISCUSSION?
STATISTICS CANADA TIPS
Another word for: Higher education? Fitness? Poverty?
Try a broad search term and scope the results Browse by subject from front page Search secondary sources for leads, e.g. The Daily Finding and Using Statistics
REALLY useful overview of Statistics Canada and statistical research in general
Google searching
CENSUS OF CANADA
CENSUS Census profiles
• I want to know everything about my province, municipality, neighbourhood
Highlight tables • How do I compare employment levels in different cities?
Topic-based tabulations • How do I examine the relationship between ethnicity and employment?
Analysis, reports, visualization tools • Instead of analyzing demographic tables myself, is there a ready-made
report I can use? Geography
• How do I create maps based on the Census? • Geographic files – ArcGIS • Subscription products: Pcensus, SimplyMap • Vancouver data Catalogue, VanMap, GeoSearch 2011
NATIONAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY NHS Profiles
• Like Census profiles, but smallest entity is Federal Electoral District (no census tract)
NHS Data Table • Like topic based tabulations
NHS Focus on Geography Series • Reports on topics by geographic areas. No map files (yet)
BEYOND STATISTICS CANADA
SOURCES BY CATEGORY
Official
Inter-governmental
United Nations
World Bank
IMF
WHO
Governmental
Federal
Statistics Canada
Health Canada
Provincial
BC stats
Provincial Health
Authorities
Municipal
Metro Vancouver Statistics
Unofficial
Non-Profit
Think Tanks
Trade / Professional Associations
NGOs
Academic Research
Commercial
Euromonitor
EIU
IMS Health
Unofficial
Non-Profit
Think Tanks
Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives
Fraser Institute
Trade / Professional Associations
NGOs
Canadian Institute for Health
Information
Academic Research
NBER
Research Data
OPEN DATA
“Like many others, I believe access to government information can lead to
better informed public policy debates and hopefully some improved services
for citizens...”
~ David Eaves Co-sponsor, Open Data Vancouver Initiative
eaves.ca, May 2nd, 2012
Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government
Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government: Figure 1: Our Commitments
Research Data
“… recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings, but not any of the following: preliminary analyses, drafts of scientific papers, plans for future research, peer reviews, or communications with colleagues. This "recorded" material excludes physical objects (e.g., laboratory samples).”
U.S. Office of Management and Budget
RESEARCH LANDSCAPE Social Science and Humanities Research Council
(SSHRC): "All research data collected with the use of SSHRC funds must be preserved and made available for use by others within a reasonable period of time. SSHRC considers "a reasoable period" to be within two years of the completion of the research project for which the data was collected.“
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): "deposit bioinformatics, atomic, and molecular coordinate data into the appropriate public database (e.g. gene sequences deposited in GenBank) immediately upon
publication of research results." and
"retain original data sets for a minimum of five years (or longer if other policies apply)."
Andrea Cameron: [email protected] Carla Graebner: [email protected] Sylvia Roberts: [email protected]