Sociology Plus
Ethnostatistics Definition
Ethnostatistics is an approach that examines the social organisation and production of statistics not merely as resources for explaining social phenomena, but as subjects worthy of independent investigation. This perspective shifts the focus from treating statistical measures as objective indicators to analysing how these statistics are constructed, interpreted, and displayed within specific social contexts.
Origins and Theoretical Links
The tradition of ethnostatistics is closely linked to the ethnomethodological critique of sociology, which challenges the assumption that sociological knowledge relies on taken-for-granted, commonsense meanings. This critical stance encourages an examination of the underlying methods and social structures embedded within statistical practices.
Key Applications
Early proponents applied this approach to specific statistical domains. For instance, John Kit-suse and Aaron Cicourel argued in their work that criminal statistics should be analysed as reflections of social organisation and the operations of statistics-keeping agencies, rather than being accepted as objective measures of the crime rate. Similarly, Jack Douglas suggested applying this treatment to Emile Durkheim’s suicide statistics, treating them as a problem requiring explanation rather than a true measure of the suicide rate itself.
Modern Definition
More recently, the domain has expanded, with Robert Gephart defining ethnostatistics as the study concerned with the construction, interpretation, and display of statistics within quantitative social research.