Assignment 2 DATA-110

Assignment 2 DATA-110.

1. Write about the positive and negative aspects of this hatecrimes dataset. 

One positive aspect of the hate-crimes dataset is that it contains 4,029 complaints and lots of useful variables, such as year, month, county, precinct, offense, bias motive, and arrest information. These variables help researchers compare hate crimes across locations, time periods, and targeted groups. The dataset can also be joined with census population data to calculate rates per 100,000 residents, making comparisons between counties fairer than comparing raw totals alone. The graph clearly shows that anti-Jewish incidents were the most frequently reported among the four selected categories, especially in Kings and New York counties.

However, the dataset also has limitations. It represents the reported complaints, so not every hate crime that occurred, because many incidents may probably have never been reported to police. Additionally, using only the 2020 population for every year may make annual rates less accurate. The graph’s title is also incorrect because the displayed data cover 2019–2025, not 2010–2016.

2. List 2 different paths you would like to (hypothetically) study about this dataset.

Two paths I would hypothetically study are: (1) how hate-crime motives changed over time, and (2) whether counties have different hate-crime rates after adjusting for population.