Analyzing Happiness Data - Two Approaches

Analyzing Happiness Data Basics

Two Camps

Level of Sufficiently & Comparisons

Level of Sufficiently

Level of Sufficiently

Sufficiently Levels also say that if a group of people have a certain score or above, they are happy.

Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Index 2010 survey of 7142 people.

Questions for Sufficiently Levels: Who gets to decide what is sufficient?

Who gets to decide what a high enough score is?

What about a situation where people report wellbeing but the sustainability of the planet is in decline?

People are happy but greenhouse gasses are rising?

People report high quality of life but other species are dying off?

Comparing the Data

Comparisons tell us how one are compares to another and gives us a way to understand why.

World Happiness Reports 2012 – present Ranks Nations by Satisfaction with Life

United Kingdom Office of National Statistics Map of Satisfaction with Life

Questions for Comparisons: Should areas compete for being the most happy?

Who chooses what the factors are for analyzing what influences satisfaction with life?

What about the factors that are not considered?

What about the interdependencies?

The decision about using sufficiency levels or data comparisons is complex.

Data is important, but what you do with the data is more important.

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