Data & Society: understanding patterns of mass violence with data and statistics

Databite No. 74: Patrick Ball presents Digital Echoes: Understanding Patterns of Mass Violence with Data and Statistics. This talk will explore the assumption that nearly every project using data must make: that the data are representative of reality in the world. Using analysis of killings in Iraq, homicides committed by police in the US, killings in the conflict in Syria, and homicides in Colombia, we will contrast patterns in raw data with data in estimated total patterns of violence. The talk will show how biases in raw data can be corrected through estimation, and explain why it matters in these countries, and more generally. RSVP required! ...