{
  "id": "1999-november-inconsistent-data",
  "slug": "1999-november-inconsistent-data",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1999-november-inconsistent-data.html",
  "year": 1999,
  "month": "November",
  "monthNum": 11,
  "headline": "Inconsistent data",
  "kicker": "KIDS AND VIOLENCE",
  "author_name": "MaryJo Sylwester",
  "author_title": "Staff",
  "affiliation": "IRE and NICAR",
  "summary": "Journalists across the country have discovered major inconsistencies in school violence reporting data, with schools using different definitions and methods to record incidents, requiring reporters to verify statistics through multiple sources and interviews.",
  "keywords": [
    "reporting",
    "schools",
    "data"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Data & Databases",
    "Investigative Methods",
    "Education"
  ],
  "technologies": [],
  "full_text": "Reporters across the country who have looked at school violence statistics say there is one big problem with the data: inconsistent reporting.\n\nIn Raleigh, N.C., WRAL-TV reporter Stuart Watson found cases of sexual harassment reported as sexual assault and bullets reported as guns.\n\nIn Virginia, the state's first-ever \"report card\" had numbers that seemed to defy reality for three school districts of roughly the same size, according to Jeff South, a journalism professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. Here's what the state said: City of Richmond, 188 reported incidents; Henrico County, a suburb, 859 incidents; and Chesterfield County, a suburb, 11 incidents.\n\nThe Richmond Times Dispatch published articles at the beginning of April telling the public about the discrepancies in the data.\n\n\"Educators have cautioned that some of the numbers – particularly those that record incidents of violence – are subject to the interpretation of the schools reporting them and may not be reliable as points of comparison from school to school and division to division,\" one of the Times Dispatch articles said.\n\nSo how do you overcome this problem?\n\nSeveral reporters from around the country – both print and broadcast – chimed in with some suggestions, based on their own experiences. What follows is an overview of what they had to say.\n\nThe first step is to study the data, looking for \"numbers that seem to defy reality,\" and ask for written guidelines on how school officials defined or categorized violent incidents, South recommended.\n\nWatson suggested running an internal check by comparing school data against alternative sources such as police logs or reports and other school reports. Even if the school has its own police force, city police or sheriff's deputies may also take reports of criminal activity at schools.\n\nBe sure to ask data collection or analysis people to explain any discrepancies and call the schools directly to double check the numbers.\n\n\"We found keypunch errors and principals who did not read definitions or follow simple instructions,\" Watson said.\n\nScott Smallwood of the Albuquerque Journal, said it's important to ask how crimes are reported – whether the principal tells someone or students go directly to officers on campus.\n\nHe also found those schools with more serious crime and drug problems tended to be more diligent in reporting.\n\n\"(Under-reporting) is probably more likely with the lesser incidents – from vandalism to simple assault to disorderly conduct. Our feeling was it would be harder to keep quiet about robberies, rapes and serious assaults with officers patrolling the campuses,\" he said.\n\nBut ultimately the only way to overcome discrepancies in the data is an old-fashioned technique called interviewing people. Talk to students, educators, police officers, state officials and anyone else who can shed some light on the \"reality\" behind the numbers.\n\nAnd finally, be extremely careful in how you report the numbers. Be sure to clarify any discrepancies and throw out any numbers or comparisons that you can't verify as accurate.\n\nMaryJo Sylwester can be reached by e-mail at maryjo@nicar.org",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1999-november-more-resources-on-school-violence",
      "score": 0.333
    },
    {
      "slug": "1999-november-school-violence-resources",
      "score": 0.249
    },
    {
      "slug": "1999-november-a-few-of-the-stories-on-school-violence-at-the-ire-resource-center",
      "score": 0.233
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    {
      "slug": "1999-november-aftermath",
      "score": 0.229
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      "score": 0.213
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1999-november-inconsistent-data.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1999-november-inconsistent-data.json"
}