1. Politics and Society – A short methodology for looking at graphs
Thinking about Data
Look at the graphs below and answer the questions

2. A brief note for teachers
I used these two graphs at the start of consecutive double classes. I asked the students to give their initial reactions to the data and work out what they think the graph indicated
I then present them with a (kind of brief) methodology for asking themselves systematic questions about the data (any suggestions on this welcome!)
I then try and link the graph to specific events in class (i.e. I showed the graph of the voter apathy, then the opening 10 minutes of the 2nd Presidential Debate in the US, and asked what impact listening to such divisive rhetoric might have on those disillusioned young (potential) voters (This worked really well, I felt!!!)

3. What kinds of questions should we ask ourselves about data?
Who compiled these data? (i.e. who paid for it?)
Who are the target audience(s) of this data? (Who do they want to read it?)
What was the sample size? (‘N’ Number)
How was that sample chosen? (i.e. is it representative/randomized?)
What information does this graph provide? (Check the axis…)
What kinds of conclusions can we draw from this graph?
What does the graph NOT tell us?
How might the results of this graph be MISUSED?

4. Source: http://www. politico

5. Questions on the graph..
What story does this graph tell us about the Brexit vote?
How do we account for the negative value in the month of March?
What should the Irish government do about these data?
Do it tell us anything about the gross number of applications? Would it be important to get the core data upon which this is based?

7. Based on the graph answer the following questions…
How does Ireland’s political engagement compare with other countries ?
For young people?
Its average population?
What conclusion can we draw about political engagement amongst older members of the population?
What does it mean if the “average line” is outside the bar chart?
Which countries are most/least engaged? What might you put this down to?
Is it important to consider the population size of each country before we draw an overall conclusions?
What are the policy implications for a government looking at this graph?
How might this graph (based on ) change in the coming years? Why?

8. Further reading
Consider this Op-Ed by Anne-Marie McNally in the Irish Times. How well does the graph accord with McNally’s views?
Can the students see that they are, themselves, a part of the attempt to rectify this situation?
What methods (outside of the pol-soc classroom) might the government (or individual political parties) use to address this difficulty?
Consider ideas such as ‘voting age’ – subsidizing youth conferences – bulking up CSPE and Primary School Civics?
What are the long-term consequences of ignoring trends like those identified in the data?
*** I really struggled to introduce what the OECD was, and the degree to which its data might be reliable…
I’m hoping to post more of these data tasks to my twitter feed as I stumble upon (feel free to follow along)