The mutual construction of statistics and society / edited by Ann Rudinow Stnan, Heidi Mork Lomell, and Svein Hammer.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Saetnan, Ann Rudinow.

Lomell, Heidi Mork.

Hammer, Svein.

Series:

Routledge advances in research methods ; 2.

Routledge advances in research methods ; 2

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Statistics.

Public administration.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (314 p.)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Statistics are often seen as simple, straightforward, and objective descriptions of society. However, what we choose to count, what we choose not to count, who does the counting, and the categories and values we choose to apply when counting, matter. This volume addresses the ways in which statistics and numbers are gathered and applied in social science research. The contributors argue that we must become more aware of the power and the limitations of statistics.

Contents:

Book Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Figures; Tables; Acknowledgments; Introduction: By the Very Act of Counting-The Mutual Construction of Statistics and Society; Part I Overarching Themes and Approaches; 1 Numbers: Their Relation to Power and Organization; 2 Words and Numbers: For a Sociology of the Statistical Argument; 3 Sociology in the Making: Statistics as a Mediator between the Social Sciences, Practice, and the State; 4 Governing by Indicators and Outcomes: A Neoliberal Governmentality?; Part II Visibility, Invisibility and Transparency; 5 Ethnicity: Differences and Measurements

6 Seeing Like Citizens: Unofficial Understandings of Official Racial Categories in a Brazilian University 7 Ideas in Action: "Human Development" and "Capability" as Intellectual Boundary Objects; Part III Accountability and Manageability; 8 Labeling and Tracking the Criminal in Mid-Nineteenth Century England and Wales: The Relationship between Governmental Structures and Creating Official Numbers; 9 From Categorization to Public Policy: The Multiple Roles of Electronic Triage; 10 Making Sense of Numbers: The Presentation of Crime Statistics in the Oslo Police Annual Reports, 1950-2008

11 Statistics on a Website: Governing Schools by Numbers 12 Locating the Worths of Performance Indicators: Performing Transparencies and Accountabilities in Health Care; Part IV Reporting and Acts of Resistance; 13 Constructing Mirrors, Constructing Patients-with High Stakes Statistics; 14 GIS in Practice: Domestication of Statistics in Policing; Contributors; Name Index; Subject Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1-136-93551-7

1-136-93552-5

1-282-78130-8

9786612781308

0-203-84661-3

9780203846612

OCLC:

664551689