In light of the recent developments regarding NSA gathering data on Americans from various online and telecommunications sources, the Pew Research Center posted a blog highlighting some longitudinal data it has gathered since 9/11 on Americans’ attitudes toward relinquishing civil liberties. The post shows that over the last decade, fewer Americans believe that we need to relinquish our civil liberties “to curb terrorism.”
The blog post does not break down responses by any demographic factors, however, and after a tweet by danah boyd to Mary Madden at Pew Internet asking if there was going to be any further information about it, I, too, was curious. So I hopped into the SPSS file and did a few quick analyses. The result is my first-ever infographic, so please be gentle in your critiques of my artistry (I’m a researcher, not a graphic designer). You can also download a PDF of the infographic.
While it originated as an obscure reference to a sci-fi/fantasy book I was reading at the time, my blog name tends to be a bit of a downer (unless you think my blog is all about the Elder Scrolls game, to which you would be thoroughly disappointed), so I’m thinking of renaming it to reflect the more academic nature of it. I mean, some may argue that grad school, especially at the doctoral level, could be conceived as oblivion (right now I’m thinking more along the lines of the third circle of hell, since I’m obviously a glutton for punishment), the subject matter I typically write about it not exactly apparent from the blog’s name.
jessica vitak, phd 