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Interpreting Statistics

California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Latest update: December 13, 1998
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Interpretation Exercise 1
Interpretation Exercise 2 Extra credit

Interpreting Statistics

Interpretation Exercise 1

Use Curran and Takata's Statistics to answer the following questions. E-mail your answers to Jeanne. Keep records on disk.

  1. According to the introduction to the text, under what conditions is statistics useless?

    1. When you don't understand math.
    2. When you're trying to explain things to people who don't understand math.
    3. When the measures you use are not valid.
    4. When you don't know how to interpret the tables and analysis.
    5. All of the above.

  2. Which of the following is not true?

    1. Interpretation is something we can all do.
    2. Interpretation is common-sensical.
    3. Interpretation requires a solid understanding of the mathematics involved.
    4. Interpretation confuses people.
    5. Interpretation requires you to do some essay writing.

  3. What do the books on criminal justice and gender have to do with statistics?

    1. Answer in 25 words or less.

  4. What is theory? What does it do?

    1. Answer in 25 words or less. Note that the essay answers in text are much longer than 25 words!

  5. What is "critical distancing"?

    1. Criticizing a work as being too distant from academically accepted authorities.
    2. Gaining some objectivity so that you can make evaluations and decisions with less emotion.
    3. Giving an acceptable minimum of authorities to support your position.
    4. Using theory to criticize other theories.
    5. All of the above.

Interpretation Exercise 2

  1. What major theoretical perspective concerns Catharine MacKinnon?

    1. The choice of perspective as either sructural inequality or individual behaviors.
    2. The need for women to be heard.
    3. Difference-based perspectives.
    4. A theory of the state that would include women
    5. None of the above.

  2. Mathilda White Riley suggests that there is no perfect way to measure behavioral phenomena. Why?

    1. If you go by what people say, you are assuming what they will do.
    2. If you go by what people do, you are assuming what that behavior means to them.
    3. If you ask people what they think, you are assuming they will behave according to what they say they think. .
    4. If you observe people's behavior, you are assuming that what you observe is typical of what they generally do or would do.
    5. All of the above.

  3. What does the post-modern world assume?

    1. That there are many validity claims, each with a different perspective of the situation and of truth and justice.
    2. That modern society must take account of difference.
    3. That what we see depends on what we are looking for.
    4. None of the above.
    5. All of the above.

  4. What is the single most important question to ask in order to begin interpretation?

    1. What was the variable?
    2. What kind of analysis was run?
    3. How was the variable (were the variables) measured?
    4. Were the mathematical assumptions met?
    5. Was difference taken into account?

  5. What does "proscribe" mean?

    1. Answer in 25 words or less. You will find it in the Introduction on p. 4, in a paragraph on Catharine MacKinnon's theory.