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How to Collect and Analyze Data: A Manual for Sheriffs and Jail Administrators

Anyone who needs to gather and analyze data concerning various jail-related issues will find this manual useful. This document provides guidance on how information can fuel policy decision making.

Chapters comprising this guide are:

  • introduction; good management requires good information;
  • information that should be collected;
  • preparing for the data collection;
  • how to locate and capture information;
  • how to put it all together;
  • how to analyze information;
  • how to interpret information;
  • sharing information with others;
  • and getting the most from your information system.

Appendixes include:

  • a glossary of statistical terms for non-statisticians;
  • annotated bibliography;
  • manual data collection procedures and sample forms;
  • inmate profile data collection;
  • incident data code book sample;
  • transport data collection;
  • tables for determining sample size;
  • simple random sampling;
  • calculating the standard deviation;
  • calculating Chi Square;
  • and manual data display.