Analyzing Deaths that Occur During Police Interactions using Data from Fatal Encounters
Course: Math 1150/1142 Statistics 1
Semester: Fall 2021
Instructor: Callis
Learning Outcomes Assessed:
• Engage in regular discussion of quantitative information or results, with special emphasis on the context
of the problem and general, real-world knowledge. (GE:QL1)
• Utilize statistics software to perform data analyses to interpret and compare multiple representations of
quantitative information and draw inferences from them. (GE:QL2)
• Communicate quantitative information effectively, incorporating symbolic, numeric, and/or graphical
representations and appropriate syntax within verbal and written communication. (GE:QL4)
Directions: Follow the Six Steps of a Statistical Investigation using the data from Fatal Encounters about deaths
that occur during a police interaction. Label each section using the headers below.
- Step 1: Ask a research question.1 Write down your research question and why it is important.
- Step 2: Design a study and collect data. The data already exists; describe how this data was collected,
because that will impact our conclusions. Note if you use the random sample of 500 cases or the entire
data set. - Step 3: Explore the data. This should be your biggest section. Be sure to:
• Explain what you did2
• Provide the tables, graphs, and numbers
• Tell the reader what you want them to see in the tables, graphs, and numbers. - Step 4: Draw Inference Beyond the Data. You don’t have to do a formal test of significance here
(although you can if you want to). You can qualitatively describe the trends and indicate whether you
think they are true of the greater population of deaths that occur in police presence. - Step 5: Formulate Conclusions.
- Step 6: Look back and ahead. What else would you like to know in order to more fully answer your
question? What other questions does your investigation bring up?
Papers that receive a high grade are a minimum of 1 page single spaced. Typically, projects are closer to 3
pages and include a data table or graph.
1 Remember, you must be able to answer your question using Fatal Encounters data. For instance, we do not have any
information on the police officers involved, so we would not be able to answer a question such as, “Are interactions more
likely to result in death if there are more police officers involved?” although it is a worthwhile question. Your question must
require an answer beyond a single number. For example, “How many people died in police presence in 2020?” is not a rich
enough research question. A good place to start is to think about relationships among variables.
2
For example, did you calculate the rate of people who died in police presence per 10,000 people in the population in
different states? How did you choose those states? Did you create a histogram of ages of people who died in police
presence by different levels of force?