In what way does the data help you better understand a particular disability i.e. autism, or an issue i.e. employment?

Some questions you might explore are:
In what way does the data help you better understand a particular disability i.e. autism, or an issue i.e. employment?
What are some of the reasons the data varies from one state to another?
Are there more people with disability characteristics in one state vs. another?
Are there errors in the data collection or are different states using different definitions?
These are some of the questions you might explore depending on which data set you utilize.
Why is Data important?
Data is used in many ways. Government determines how funds are distributed to schools, special education programs, road building, hospitals, states, counties and cities based on population counts. Definitions of disability determine eligibility for services on the one hand, funding for services and even who gets the death penalty after the Supreme Court ruled people with intellectual disabilities could not be executed for crimes they had been convicted of.
How to do the paper?
1. Pick one data set from the below list or you can find your own.
2. Choose a topic area, i.e. employment, abuse, education, countries, benefits. It is recommended you choose a topic that is of great interest to you as you will have a greater interest and more knowledge to base your analysis upon.
3. Choose a comparison, i.e. group, state, size, country, dates.
4. Create a table or chart showing and comparing percentages and/or frequencies of your data.
5. Consider the validity and reliability of the data. Does the date actually measure what is says it does, i.e. data about how many people with disabilities were actually employed were frequently fudged by supported employment programs seeking funding while showing limited success with part-time work, number of of hours worked and small amounts of money earned (see below for more information on validity and reliability).
6. Include references, cite the database.
7. Sample questions you may find useful to address in the paper. These are suggestions. You do not have to answer all or any of these.
Where did the data come from? Whom gathered it? Under what conditions? Is it reliable? Valid?
What is the sample size of the data?
What is your interpretation of the data?
What other questions do the data raise for you?
What conclusions do you reach from the data?
What does the data mean to you? Your interpretation
What questions do you have unanswered from the data?
What is left unknown?
Possible Data Sets (You only need to analyze one data set. You are free to use any data set you wish. I recommend you use your own state)
1. UCP study: The Case for Inclusion: https://caseforinclusion.org/
How to use:
Click on one of the boxes on the screen (Explore by Issue or State)
The State link will allow you to compare the selected state to the national average.
The issue link will allow you to compare state by state for any of the issues. It is particularly useful for employment.
2. The National Disability Data: identifies the number of people with different disabilities. One of the most comprehensive datasets. http://disabilitycompendium.org
Proper reference citation: Institute on Disability, University of New Hampshire. (2018). Annual Disability Statistics Compendium. Retrieved from http://disabilitycompendium.org
3. The National Core Indicators is a joint data collection project for people serviced by a Medicaid Waiver programs. It includes 44 states. http://caseforinclusion.org/data/data-by-issue This is a very important data set and I highly recommend it to you. It is too elaborate to provide instructions in this post. Feel free to use it is a very important dataset although you will have to learn how to use it.
4. StateData – National and state data on employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Provides state by state presentation of each data set. Compiled by the University Massachusetts, Institute for Community Inclusion, based on a national survey of federal and state offices and the American Community Survey. www.statedata.info
5. Alternative Assignment Use a data set of your choice. Some examples are provided below:
Cornell University: http://disabilitystatistics.org
State of the States: http://www.stateofthestates.org (Use Create a Chart)
Centers for Disease Control and Protection, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics
World Health Organization: http:www3.who.int/icf/icftemplate.cfm
Examples of misuse of data
What is the data that supports the idea that immunizations cause Autism?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine_controversy
The MMR vaccine controversy centered around the 1998 publication of a fraudulent research paper in the medical journal The Lancet that lent support to the subsequently discredited theory that colitis and autism spectrum disorders could be caused by the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The researcher was a doctor and eventually lost his license to practice medicine.
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Readings
Fujiura, G.T., Rutkowski-Kmitta, V. (2003). Counting Disability. In Albrecht, G. L., Seelman, K. D., & Bury, M. (Eds.), Handbook of Disability Studies (pp. 69-96). California: Sage Publications. HDS-Counting Disability.pdf
Altman, B. M. (2003). Disability Definitions, Models, Classification Schemes and Applications, In Albrecht, G. L., Seelman, K. D., & Bury, M. (Eds.), Handbook of Disability Studies (pp. 97-122). California: Sage Publications. (see below file).
Olkin, R. (1999). Who are People with Disabilities? In What Psychotherapists Should Know About People with Disabilities? (pp 1-23). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Oklin.pdf
Davis, L. J. The End of Identity Politics: On Disability as an Unstable Category, In L. Davis (Ed.), The Disability Studies Reader (4th ed., pp. 263-268). New York, NY: Routledge.. DSR Davis Identity Politics revised.PDF
Davis questions the use of the term disability as being overly broad and limiting as a protected class of people seeking protection and special benefits. He suggests we move beyond consumerism of the body and the goal of independence to seeing all of us as dependent and in need of universal design. Davis describes a possible world where disability is eradicated through science and medicine.
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Attached file: Disability Definitions, Models, Classification Schemes and Applications
Attached Files:
File HDS Chap 3. Disability Definitions.Altman.pdf (408.348 KB)
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Reliability vs Validity
Reliability refers to the repeatability of findings. If the study were to be done a second time, would it yield the same results? If so, the data are reliable. If more than one person is observing behavior or some event, all observers should agree on what is being recorded in order to claim that the data are reliable, i.e. Inter-rater reliability

Validity refers to the credibility or believability of the research. Are the results telling you what you think they are? Are the findings genuine? Is hand strength a valid measure of intelligence? Almost certainly the answer is “No” Is the score on the SAT a valid predictor of GPA during the first year of college? Yes and no. The higher the SAT score the more likely a student is to have a higher GPA score in year one. However research has found the SAT score to have about the same predictive utility as high school ranking in high school. The answer depends on how the test is used and the amount and type of research support for such a relationship.
Source: http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/faculty_sites/sommerb/sommerdemo/intro/validity.htm

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Optional Resources
For those of you seeking additional research knowledge, I recommend the following two articles.
Campbell, D. T. (1969). Reforms as Experiments. American Psychologist, 24, 409-429. [Note: read only first 16 pages]
This article is a classic in the field. Dr. Campbell was the former President of the American Psychology Association and Professor at Northwestern University. http://www.cem.org/attachments/publications/CEMWeb027%20Reforms%20As%20Experiments.pdf
Bricki, N. & Green, J. (2007). A Guide to Using Qualitative Research Methodology.
http://fieldresearch.msf.org/msf/bitstream/10144/84230/1/Qualitative+research+methodology.pdf
You can download the file as a pdf for easier reading should you prefer at: http://fieldresearch.msf.org/msf/handle/10144/84230

Examples of Excellent Data Analysis papers
Below are two examples of excellent Data Analysis papers. They were done in past sessions of this course. All the students have generously given permission to share their work. I greatly appreciate their willingness to do so. Please do not share these further.
The papers are examples to provide you guidance and direction. They are provided to help you expand your thoughts. They are only examples. You are not expected to duplicate them but to use your own thoughts and knowledge to complete your analysis and paper.
Professor Mark Friedman
Papers:
Data Analysis Dublinski.pdf Note: This paper is missing the title page or name and title at the top.
Data Analysis of Poverty-Narowski revised.pdf

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