How do we handle statistics vs. data?

[waldoj]

A common shortcoming of both incarceration and motor vehicle crash data is that aggregated statistics are provided, instead of raw data. When that's all that exists, how do we score it? Do we merely indicate that the dataset is incomplete? That seems to understate the matter. Do we score it as not existing, and note in the comments that statistics are provided in lieu of actual data?

[waldoj]

I continue to be unclear about how to handle this, despite a lot of thought over the past month.

[waldoj]

I think if we score data as not existing, but statistics exist, we have to write in the comments that statistics exist, and provide a link to those.