The Uses (and Misuses) of Social Indicators: Implications for Public Policy
PsycEXTRA Dataset(2003)
摘要
verview Indicators - statistical markers - are used in many areas of life to track patterns and trends over time. For example, indicators are used in the economic realm to monitor the ups and downs of the economy, in the public health field to track patterns of disease, and by the nation's school sys- tems to track student achievement. And while most baseball fans might not be aware of it, they're using indicators when they cite "stats" on batting averages to debate the merits of one ballplayer over another. Despite the widespread use and acceptance of indicators in so many fields, indicators tend to be underuti- lized in the broader social policy arena. Yet social indicators, as indicators in this arena are called, can be very valuable to policy makers. For example, social indicators can act as an early warning system, or "miner's canary,"1 about a problem so that quick action can be taken to address it. Consider the way indi- cators showing an increase in binge drinking among American teens have alerted the public about this problem and spurred coverage of it in the media. It may be that one reason indicators are not used as fully in the social policy arena as in some others is the haziness that exists about how social indicators differ from other types of research in the social sciences. In addition, policy makers may have little or no knowledge of the purposes for which social indicators are best suited, and when the use of indicators is inappropriate. This Research Brief sets out to help clarify these issues. It suggests five purposes that social indicators can serve: description, monitoring, setting goals, increasing accountability, and "reflective practice"(which functions like an internal evaluation). The brief also sounds some cautionary notes about the misuse of social indicators. For example, it sug- gests that it is inappropriate to use these statistical markers to determine cause and effect. Thus, social indicators can tell you that the rate of binge drinking among American teens has gone up over the past decade but, alone, they can't tell you that a particular factor or factors caused this increase. This Research Brief is different from most Child Trends briefs, which customarily pre- sent data and research findings related to children, youth, and families. In contrast, this brief was developed to raise awareness and encourage further discussion about a research method that can be helpful to policy makers and others concerned with improving the well-being of children and their families.
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关键词
social science,public health,public policy,reflective practice,social policy,early warning system
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