2.5 Thinking Critically about Social Scientific Data

LO 2.5: Interpret social scientific data.

Sociologists can present research results through statistics and statements about the relationships between variables. Primarily qualitative research may include descriptive statistics about the sample so that users of the research can more fully evaluate the results. Learning to interpret social scientific data is a valuable career and life skill. Therefore, this section focuses on interpreting basic descriptive statistics and understanding the difference between correlation and causation.

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Researchers Use Surveys to Collect Descriptive Statistics

Basic Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics consist of a numerical summary of patterns found in a dataset, such as the percentage of survey respondents who work full-time from home or the average income of U.S. adults. These statistics are used in journalistic accounts, careers, and everyday life. This section explains how to calculate and interpret basic descriptive statistics.