Demographic Methods and Concepts - CD-vel [antikvár]

Preface ÜH . . the methods of population analysis are less formidable than they often seem to the uninitiated once the underlying logic of the procedures is understood.' (Dudley Kirk, in Barclay 1966: vi) This book seeks to enable social science students and researchers to learn demographic methods without training in mathematics or statistics. Making demographic methods more accessible, and helping to disseminate demographic skills beyond the preserve of population specialists, are significant considerations today given the abundance, wide availability and relevance of information about population characteristics and changes. Further aims of this book are: To present concise background on conceptual, theoretical and practical considerations which are important in the interpretation of demographic data and indices. For example, the demographic transition, explained in Chapter 1, provides a theoretical context for interpreting statistical information on changes in national populations. To present methods for the analysis of population at régiónál and local levels, as well as at a national scale, since applications to subnational populations are of particular interest to large numbers of people who use demographic methods in geography and planning. To provide, through a series of exercises in each chapter, training in the use of spreadsheets for demographic work, employing the widely available program Microsoft Excel. Spreadsheet skills have become essential to proficiency in working with population statistics, as well as with social statistics generally. To facilitate understanding of principles, exploration of examples, and the application of demographic techniques - through a set of seventeen Excel computer modules, supplied on the compact disk at the back of the book. The modules are designed to be easy to use, requiring no background in computing, and are described in text boxes at relevant points in the chapters.