Individuals-and-Societies-Sample
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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