Humanitarian Indicators & Data Sources
Much of the data used in humanitarian assessments is in the form of indicators. An indicator is a variable that can be measured and that sheds light on another variable of interest. Humanitarian indicators measure people’s conditions of life. They include both straightforward measures (such as the number of disease cases reported to a Ministry of Health in a given month) and also include sophisticated measures like the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Index, which combines data on life expectancy, economic status and educational attainment into a single, synthesized measure. more.......
Section 3.4 described how to construct causal models by identifying and ordering the relationships between variables in the pathways linking cause and effect. Determination of whether a variable causes an outcome requires that the investigator measure and examine if and how a change in one is associated with a change in the other. PROCESS indicators of changes in services provided and activities undertaken, and OUTCOME indicators of changed status of people’s living conditions are used for this purpose. more......
Most of the data used in determining baseline conditions and the effects of sanctions are gathered from existing sources, whereas original data is usually generated sparingly, to fill gaps. more.......
One often hears that “There is no data!”. In reality, there is always data and the more one looks, the more one finds. What the data represents and how to interpret it is not a simple matter, but finding data is often easier than expected. more.......
Each country’s sanction is a unique event. In many cases, sanctions are national in scope with the result that control groups (people within the country not affected by sanctions) with which to make comparisons may be lacking.24 Control groups are the main way that difference outcomes can be attributed to a particular cause. For example, to test a new medicine, one group takes the pill while a comparable group does not (. . . or takes a placebo). more.......
The term “quantitative” refers to data or information that can be enumerated. Quantitative information is gathered to summarize the experience of large groups of people, make comparisons between groups, and track changes among them over time. The number of children malnourished or immunized is quantitative data because it is expressed through numbers. more.......
4.7.1 Deciding which information is most important
What set of indicators will adequately represent the humanitarian situation in a country? The portrayal of these conditions depends on the investigator’s ability to define a unique set of indicators that collectively characterizes, and is sensitive to changes in, each local situation. There are, however, commonalities across countries regarding the major threats to wellbeing and the likely places where information on these indicators will be found. more........
4.8.1 Problems and cautions with interpretation of data
Extrapolation beyond the scope of the data source
Generalizing beyond the data is a frequent methodological error. When a study in a narrow geographic area of time finds excess mortality or excess malnutrition, there is often a temptation to extrapolate that finding as if it were representative of a larger, surrounding population. As a rough guess, it has some value, but it should not be presented as if the information actually proves anything about the larger population. more......
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