week 10: human rights data

Stats and Facts

Stats and Facts

The common assumption that statistics equate to facts and facts equate to truth, which may not always be accurate.

Scholarly Importance of Human Rights Data

Political scientists increasingly use statistics to

1. study human rights

2. answering questions about repressive states

3. foreign policy impacts.

Political Importance of Human Rights Data

Human rights data plays a crucial role in

1. persuading audiences

2. generating support for causes

3. motivating political action.

Personal Importance of HR Data

• Human rights data helps individuals assess the validity of their perspectives and beliefs.

• Human rights data can challenge personal opinions, leading to a reassessment of beliefs and perspectives.

Options when Data and Personal Opinions Collide

1. Ignore the data and hold the same view 

2. Question the data and find legitimate reasons to reject its reliability resulting in holding the same opinion

3. Question the data and find legitimate reasons to accept its reliability, resulting in a new opinions

4. Accept the data and immediately change our mind.

Assessing Data Reliability

using the example of torture in Mexico, we can ask questions to assess the reliability of the data

1. who collected the data?

2. How is torture defined?

3. How was the info on torture measured and quantified? 

4. Is the data being presented too specific to be believable?

5. How old is it?

Assessing the Reliability of Human Rights NGO Reports

Understanding the significance and potential biases in reports from human rights NGOs like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Key Characteristics of HRW Methods

Four essential methods used by Human Rights Watch to gather data on human rights issues.

1. Get on the ground presence w the region being studied

2. Build working relaitpnship w locals, activists, ngos, journalists and gov officials

3. Conduct interviews w vics and witnesses of issues being examined

4. Conduct interviews w govt, military, and rebel group officials. 

Sources of Bias in HRW Methods

1. Reliance on vic and witness testimony

   1. Ppl misremember. 

2. The political motives of those being interviewed

how to reduce bias

1. In person interviews

2. Private interviews

3. Confidential interviews

4. Asking the  same question many times

5. Asking the same questions to diff ppl