BHS Stat
October 13, 1999
The Data Desk file Age vs DUI Arrests
contains data collected by the Highway Patrol in a large southern
state. It gives the DUI arrests per 100,000 state residents for each
age group from16 years through 70 years. Each case in this data file
is an age group. The two measurements taken on each case are the age
of people in it and the number of DUI arrests per 100,000 people in
that age group. For example, one case in the AGE variable has a value
of 28; the corresponding value in the DUI variable is 12.66. This
means that among 28-year olds in this state, there were 12.66 DUI
arrests per 100,000 of them. (NOTE: This does NOT mean that 12.66
28-year-olds were arrested, NOR does it mean that there were exactly
100,000 28-year-olds in this state.)
A portion of the data is shown at the
right.
- Look for ways of presenting the data that
show interesting patterns or relationships.
-
- Describe the patterns and relationships
that you find.
- Take the perspective of a
person who wants to communicate to an audience (who has not
analyzed the data) the pattern or relationship you found.
Accordingly, your descriptions should be clear and precise
--say what you intend they understand, and say it in a way that
will help them understand it fully.
- Suggest plausible explanations that answer
the question why the data might have the patterns or relationships
you found.
- A "plausible explanation" is
one that, if accurate, provides insight into the cases being
represented. Good explanations tend to focus more on the
situation and the cases than on the data itself. A plausible
explanation is one that leads you to say "Of course! That makes
sense!" as you look at a presentation of the data.