|
|
|
| Definition: |
A rate refers to the occurrence of events over a specific interval in time.
Similarly, a rate refers to the measure of the frequency of some phenomenon of interest.
|
| Context: |
Caution must be used with the term “rate” as it is sometimes applied to ordinary percentage changes such as a “literacy rate” which is the percentage of a population that is literate.
Different constants (commonly 100, 1 000, 100 000) are used in the presentation of different rates (e.g. crude death rates and crude birth rates are usually expressed per 1 000). Palmore and Gardner (1994) recommend that when calculating a rate to proceed without the use of a constant until the final answer is derived and then use the constant to express the rate per 100, 1 000 or whatever is the usual constant for that type of rate.
Palmore, James A., Gardner, Robert W., 1994, Measuring mortality, fertility and natural increase: a self-teaching guide to elementary measures, Rev. ed., East-West Centre, Honolulu, Hawaii.
|
| Source
Publication: |
|
Everitt, B.S., 1989, The Cambridge Dictionary of Statistics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
|
| Statistical
Theme: Methodological information (metadata) |
| Created
on Monday, July 11, 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
