ABSTRACT
Following a brief presentation of some of the basic tools used in data analysis, this chapter focuses on the use rather than the production of data. It discusses descriptive and inferential analysis, activities higher in the pecking order of deriving insights and generating knowledge from data. It likens descriptive analysis to knowing the ‘lay of the land’ and stresses the needs for granularity. It then discusses inferential techniques used to arrive at findings, which are data of a different nature. Regressions and correlations are discussed. Hypothesis testing and its relationship to the truth we seek is explained against the background of ever-present human anxieties. The discussion also includes a brief but critical exposition of probability as it relates to human nature. It then addresses selected topics of data analysis, proposing new ways to combine stock-and-flow data in some phenomena, such as crime. Moreover, it discusses through a critical lens analyses of socio-economic impacts and league tables. Fact-checking warns of how errors can creep in research work having a significant impact on the conclusions, discusses issues of seasonality and their effects on the data, as well as cautions of low-quality statistics that are still circulating.
