1. What dataset will you use for your final project?
The dataset I will use for my final project is Youth courts, guilty cases by type of sentence.
(I don't believe the link is working. The CANSIM # is 252-0067)
2. Describe the dataset. What kind of data does it contain?
This dataset is from Statistics Canada. It contains information about youth crimes across Canada over a 5-year period (2014-2019). The dataset includes a total number of guilty cases (cases with one guilty finding and multiple guilty findings), whether the crimes were Criminal Code crimes or federal statutes, what type of sentences were given, and whether crimes were committed by males or females, as well as their ages.
3. Is there anything about your data that you don't understand? How will you find this out?
One question I have about my data set is how to best format it in Excel, so I will be able to do pivot tables. I have tried to answer this question on my own, and I will watch Chad's lectures again. If I am still confused, I will send Chad an email. Also, because there are so many categories in my data set, I'm wondering whether it is easier to have all my data in one Excel spreadsheet, or should I generate multiple data sheets with only some information on each one? I'm not sure which is the most effective/user friendly format.
I'm not sure what the Company field is, so I will read the Related Information and the notes that come with this data to learn about it. I'm curious to know what a non-residential program is and what is a Reprimand sentence? I will refer to the notes to answer these questions. I also want to know what it means when a field has "...". Is this unknown information? If so, how will that affect my analysis of the data? Can I omit/delete those fields? Perhaps the notes section will answer this question, too.
4. What are some questions you hope to answer with your data? List at least three.
- Have the youth crime rates across Canada gone up or down within the last five years?
- Are there more Criminal Code crimes or federal statute crimes?
- Which province has the highest youth crime rate?
- What type of crime is most common among males and females?
- What is the most common sentence for male and female youth?
