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<strong>and</strong> rigour in order to be able to gather the necessary<br />

information about an entire country <strong>and</strong> population. Inflation<br />

(a measure of price changes each month) is usually measured ed<br />

by looking at a basket of typical things bought by a typical<br />

household. What is typically bought will vary regionally, by<br />

socioeconomic status, gender, size of household, <strong>and</strong> over<br />

time. This makes comparison over time <strong>and</strong> across different<br />

groups more difficult. Second, a set of data that suggests<br />

gests<br />

a correlated relationship does not necessarily imply that t the<br />

variables have a causal relationship. This is what the field of<br />

econometrics (something you might study at university one<br />

day) tries to establish with complex statistical techniques <strong>and</strong><br />

great difficulty. Take a look ok at Figure 1.13 below to help you<br />

underst<strong>and</strong> that two variables that move together may not<br />

necessarily cause each other.<br />

Cheese eaten (kg)<br />

Rainfall (mm)<br />

500<br />

450<br />

400<br />

350<br />

300<br />

250<br />

200<br />

150<br />

100<br />

50<br />

13<br />

13.5<br />

14<br />

14.5<br />

Key<br />

Bedsheet tanglings<br />

Cheese eaten<br />

[Image 01_16a <strong>and</strong> b]<br />

TS AW<br />

Observed<br />

Predicted<br />

1<br />

1 15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150<br />

Days<br />

<br />

Figure 1.12 (a) Time series data; (b) A scatter plot<br />

CRITICAL THINKING<br />

Enormously important in all subjects, critical thinking is needed<br />

in the study of <strong>Individuals</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Societies</strong> because of the<br />

limitations of the<br />

methods outlined above. When we study<br />

the past, we<br />

only have access to the writing <strong>and</strong> artifacts left<br />

behind by people (whether<br />

deliberate or not). These do not<br />

always provide<br />

a complete picture, <strong>and</strong> information can be<br />

interpreted in different ways. In geographical, psychological,<br />

management or economic studies about people, it is difficult<br />

to gather all the information needed to fully know what we<br />

want to know. We can gather survey evidence, we can look<br />

at data, we can build mathematical models, but people are<br />

complicated <strong>and</strong> our world changes fast. We must always be<br />

aware of the limitations of our methods of investigation.<br />

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999<br />

Year<br />

<br />

Figure 1.13 Amount of cheese consumed per person correlates with number of people who died by becoming caught<br />

in their bedsheets. Correlation in data does not mean one of the variables causes the other<br />

Key<br />

Predicted rainfall (mm)<br />

500<br />

450<br />

400<br />

350<br />

300<br />

250<br />

200<br />

150<br />

100<br />

50<br />

1<br />

1 50 100150200250 300 350 400 450 500<br />

Observed rainfall (mm)<br />

LEnfall<br />

SAM<br />

PLE<br />

LE<br />

100<br />

200<br />

300<br />

400<br />

Deaths caused by bedsheet tanglings<br />

1 Why do individuals form social groups? 23<br />

10425798_01_I&S_for_the_IB_MYP_4&5_Ch01.indd 23 20/01/2020 13:11

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