Briefly outlines problems associated with definition and official certification of suicide and reviews literature pertaining to validity and reliability of suicide statistics. Considers process of suicide certification as a test, estimating its sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value, using data from studies reviewed. (NB)

Describes a visual device, borrowed from matrix algebra, which helps students integrate theory, methods, and statistics in sociological research. Data are organized in a rectangular structure, with the columns of variable names representing theory, the rows representing observations whose quality is related to methodological concerns and the need…

Global figures that reveal the magnitude of the problem of illiteracy in the world disguise great disparities. For example, most of the illiteracy in the world is in developing countries. Therefore, it is preferable, and more appropriate in terms of numerical importance, to concentrate the analysis of illiteracy on developing countries. Such…