Statistics
Learning objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
explain the value of statistics
find Australian statistics
find international statistics.
Why use statistics?
Statistics are a particularly useful form of primary source. They enable you to draw conclusions regarding economic, social and political conditions in the present day and in the past. Statistics provide a means of evaluating the often competing claims made by other sources regarding the effects of past decisions, policies or events.
Statistics are also useful in providing hard evidence that can be used to test hypotheses.
Finding Australian statistics
The major source of statistical information in this country is the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Newer publications are available from the ABS site.
The ABS goal is to provide a high-quality source of statistical information. Despite this aim, there are limitations on the statistics that the ABS can provide. There are insufficient resources to provide statistical data on every conceivable subject. There are also a range of sampling and methodological problems which impose technical limits on the accuracy of the statistics that the ABS makes available.
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The things that you're liable ... ABS figures should not be confused with the actual incidence of particular events. They represent no more than the best available estimates. Why is this? Take the example of the published figures regarding the number of suicides which occur each year in Australia. There is good reason to assume that the official suicide statistics under-report the actual number of deaths due to deliberate self-harm. Stop for a moment and consider the legal, ethical and practical factors at work. Can you see why the official figures for the annual number of suicides are necessarily incomplete? |
As a researcher, you need to become familiar with the technical notes provided by the ABS. These will often illustrate the margins of error in ABS research. You should also read widely to ensure that you are familiar with what academics and commentators outside the ABS are saying about the Bureau's figures.
Although the ABS is the primary source of statistical information about Australia, it is only one of dozens of official and semi-official bodies providing high-quality data. Government agencies, libraries, private firms, market research companies and research institutes produce a range of statistics on economic and social activity. The Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) are two of the best-known. Many of the statistical publications produced by these bodies are available on the Web in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.
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Statistics at the Australian Parliamentary Library This site has links to the main Web-based sources of Australian statistics. |
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Australian Government Agriculture Portal The Australian Government Agriculture Portal is an excellent place to start if you are looking for information on primary production in this country. If you are researching any aspect of Australian agriculture, you will almost certainly find a visit to this site very rewarding. Don't assume that everything is available on the Web. In many cases, the information you need is available in paper. If you are interested in the latest monthly figures for agricultural production in Australia, this material is available at P636.0095/L764. |
Finding International statistics
Most countries have their own version of the ABS. The Library has a collection of monthly and annual statistics for different parts of the world in the Reference Collection from R310 onwards.
There are also runs of serials (annual publications) providing summaries of national statistics in the Library's main collection in the periodicals from P310 onwards.
For more recent statistics, the Web is often a good source. ASEAN offers links for statistical information relating to countries in the SE Asian region.
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Asian Development Bank This Asian Development Bank site hosts a number of online databases providing recent key economic, financial, and social indicators for developing countries in Asia. This site allows you to compare development indicators, incomes and productivity levels across developing countries. |
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Common mistakes Gary King (1986) How not to lie with statistics: avoiding common mistakes in quantitative political science Journal of Political Science, Vol. 30, No. 3. August pp. 666-687. |
Warning: official statistics ahead
In many countries, the collection of accurate statistical information is complicated by institutional, technical or political factors. The official statistics issued by the People's Republic of China (PRC) are a case in point. Critics assert that these are subject to distortion by local government cadres. Statistics are reported at village, county, city, province and the national level. At every level, it is said, statistical information provided by lower level cadres is adjusted upwards or downwards by higher ranking officials. Care is taken to ensure that figures are neither "too good" nor "too bad".
Although criticism of Chinese official statistics is common, some academics argue equally strongly for their overall accuracy. The important point is that, if you decide to make use of official statistics in your research, you should first make sure that the figures are sufficiently reliable for the purpose at hand.
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Some advice from Deng Xiaoping This problem of official statistics in the PRC is illustrated by an anecdote told by Lucian Pye, now Professor Emeritus at MIT. During a trip to Beijing in the 1970s, Professor Pye asked Deng Xiaoping, the late Chinese leader, a question regarding the size of the Chinese population. At that time, China had just completed an official census, so Pye assumed his inquiry would be easily answered. Deng replied that he did not know the size of his country's population. When Pye expressed surprise, Deng observed that: "Some places think it is good to have a big number, others think it is good to have a small number, so how are we to know?" "You are a scholar, a professor, you should never believe Chinese statistics." |
| Further reading | |
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Joel Best (2001) Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians and Activists, University of California Press. Click here to view this book. |
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Joel Best (2004) More Damned Lies and Statistics: How Numbers Confuse Public Issues, University of California Press. Click here to view this book. |
Summary
This module dealt with:
the usefulness of statistics
sources for Australian statistics
sources for international statistics.
 | Self-test Try these quick self-test questions to assess what you have learnt from this module. |