Open AccessConsidering What Counts: Claims about Nearly-Ubiquitous Social Problems
Author(s) -
Joel Best
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
numeracy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1936-4660
DOI - 10.5038/1936-4660.14.2.1394
Subject(s) - harassment , statistic , psychology , sociology , computer science , internet privacy , social psychology , statistics , mathematics
Press coverage of a recent survey suggests that sexual harassment is nearly ubiquitous in the UK. Thinking critically about claims of nearly-ubiquitous social problems requires: (1) asking how the statistic was produced; (2) considering questions of measurement; and (3) recognizing that the the most severe forms that social problems take tend to be much less common than less serious forms