Presentation of Statistical Tables Bratislava, 5-7 May 2003 Angela Me Statistical Division UNECE

NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Presentation of Statistical Tables: Summary 1. Metadata 2. Accuracy 3. How to present gender differentials

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Presentation of Statistical Tables We should satisfy the needs of all types of readers those who do not understand or are not interested in statistical issues those who understand statistical issues but are more interested in reading the message those who are interested in how the data were produced

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Presentation of Statistical Tables The reader should be able: to easily understand the message from the data and the graphics to find all the information on accuracy, sources and methodologies used

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Presentation of Statistical Tables The reader should NEVER be mislead by the data

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 An example WomenMen Total number of unemployed 234,500198,670 Total number of students 436,000398,564

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 An example WomenMen Total number of unemployed 234,500198,670 Total number of students 436,000398,564 Total number of women and men 1,250,549865,439

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 An example WomenMen % of unemployed % of students34,946 Total number of women and men 1,250,549865,439

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Statistical Tables  How can the presentation help the readers understand the message  Simplicity  Limited number of topics  Limited number of cross-classification  Presentation of both percentages (when relevant) and totals

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Metadata Sources: Institution Method of data collection: title, year Publication Methodologies: definitions, methods of calculation Explanations (graphics) Special cases (footnotes)

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Accuracy the reader should get the message that the data presented do not have the same degree of accuracy and should not be equally “trusted”

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Accuracy  Include qualifiers  ex: strong, fair, weak  present intervals  highlight estimations  Limit the decimals for small figures

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Presentation of sex disaggregated data  What data should be presented  total numbers  Percentages  by categories within total women and men  Sex distribution

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 An example: Population ages 15 and over by educational level in China 1990 Numbers in 1,000’s, percentage distribution and sex distribution (%) Education al level WomenMenSex distribution NumberPercentNumberPercentWomenMen Illiteracy127, , Primary134, , Junior middle 96, , Senior middle 27,933744, Technical secondary 7,146210, College3,05916, University1,72004, Total398, ,

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Presentation of sex disaggregated data  How data should be presented  Women and men should always be presented side by side  Numbers and percentages should be rounded off to facilitate comparisons between women and men  Graphics should start at zero at the y- axis for a quantitative variable

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Presentation of sex disaggregated data  How data should be presented  Sex distribution within categories is best illustrated in a graph  Pie charts should be avoided when distributions for several groups are compared

Statistical Division UNECE NHDR Training Bratislava, May 2003 Presentation of sex disaggregated data  More information  B. Hedman, F. Perucci, P. Sundstrom Engendering Statistics a Tool for Change, Statistics Sweden.  Contact: Mr. Pehr Sundstrom  Handbook for Producing National Statistical Reports on Women and Men, United Nations publications Sales No. E.97.XVII.10