NONREACTIVE RESEARCH AND SECONDARY ANALYSIStensions between Latinos and Anglos across the
United States but have only secondary data that in-
cludes the Pacific Northwest and New England
states. In this situation, you should reconsider the
question or the use of data.
A second danger is that you must understand
the substantive topic to use the data. Because they
are easily accessible, you might have data but know
very little about a topic. As a result, you make erro-
neous assumptions or false interpretations about the
results. Before using any data, you should study de-
tails of the substantive topic. For example, if you
use data on high school graduation rates in Germany
but you do not know much about the German
secondary education system with its distinct aca-
demic and vocational tracks and assume the Ger-
man and U.S. system are the same, you can easily
make serious errors in interpreting results.
A third danger is to quote statistics in excessive
detail to give others an impression of scientific rigor.
This can lead to the fallacy of misplaced concrete-
ness,which occurs when someone gives a false
impression of precision by quoting statistics in moreEXPANSION BOX 7
Specialized Publications That Provide Social DataPUBLISHED INFORMATION SOURCES ON
FAMOUS INDIVIDUALS
Who’s Who in Americais a popular biographic
source that has been published since 1908. It lists
the name, birth date, occupation, honors, publi-
cations, memberships, education, positions held,
spouse, and children’s names for those included.
Specialized editions are devoted to regions of the
United States (e.g., Who’s Who in the East),to
specific occupations (e.g., Who’s Who in Finance
and Industry), and to specific subgroups (e.g.,
women, Jews, African Americans).
Dictionary of American Biographyis a more detailed
listing on fewer people than Who’s Who.It began
in 1928 and has supplements to update informa-
tion. For example, Supplement 7 lists 572 people
and devotes about a page to each. It has details
about careers, travels, the titles of publications,
and relations with other famous people.
Biographical Dictionaries Master Indexis an index
listing names in the various Who’s Whopublica-
tions and many other biographic sources (e.g.,
Who’s Who in Hockey).If a researcher knows a
name, the index tells where biographic informa-
tion can be found for the person.
SOURCES ON BUSINESSES AND COMPANIES
Dun and Bradstreet Principal Industrial Businesses
is a guide to approximately 51,000 businesses in
135 countries with information on sales, number
of employees, officers, and products.
Who Owns Whomcomes in volumes for nations or
regions (e.g., North America, the United King-
dom, Ireland, and Australia). It lists parent com-
panies, subsidiaries, and associated companies.
Standard and Poor’s Register of Corporations,
Directors and Executiveslists about 37,000 U.S.
and Canadian companies. It has information on
corporations, products, officers, industries, and
sales figures.SOURCES ON POLITICAL ISSUES (UNITED STATES)
Almanac of American Politicsis a biannual publica-
tion that includes photographs and a short bio-
graphy of U.S. government officials. Committee
appointments, voting records, and similar infor-
mation are provided for members of Congress
and leaders in the executive branch.
America Votes: A Handbook of Contemporary
American Election Statisticscontains detailed vot-
ing information by county for most statewide and
national offices. Primary election results are in-
cluded down to the county level.
Vital Statistics on American Politicsprovides dozens
of tables on political behavior, such as the cam-
paign spending of every candidate for Congress,
their primary and final votes, ideological ratings
by various political organizations, and a summary
of voter registration regulations by state.Fallacy of misplaced concreteness Use of too many
digits in a quantitative measure in an attempt to cre-
ate the (mis)impression that data are accurate.