Introduction

Specifying
the research
question

Designing
the study

Collecting
the data

Analyzing
the data

Interpreting
the results

Generalizing
the results

Aids

Seeking an explanation for fertility rates

So far, the results suggest that fertility will remain unchanged in northern Sudan. Women wanted and were still producing large families and few of the couples were using reliable means to limit family size. Still, before stating a conclusion based on these findings, we need to examine fertility in light of other broad social trends in Sudan. Chief among these is the recent increase in years of schooling among girls.

How might increased schooling be linked to fertility? To answer this question, the researchers analyzed the relationship between schooling and fertility. Here are some of the things they discovered:

• Women with no schooling had an average of 4.2 children;
• Women with 1 to 5 years of schooling had an average of 4.4 children;
• Women with 6 or more years of schooling had only 3.0 children on the average.

These findings indicate that completion of primary school was associated with lower fertility.

The education of women was also related to use of contraceptives. As their schooling increased, so did the use of contraceptives:

• Only 2.5% of the women with no schooling reported use of contraceptives;
• While 15.0% of those with 1 to 5 years of schooling did so:
• And an even larger percentage, 42.0%, of women with at least 6 years of schooling indicated use of contraceptive methods.

Among women who wanted no more children, schooling was even more strongly associated with contraceptive use:

• Only 8.5% of the women with no schooling and who wanted no more children reported use of contraceptives.
• This was true for 29.5% of those with 1 to 5 years of schooling.
• A much larger percentage, 63.0%, of the women with 6 or more years of school and who wanted no more children reported use of contraceptives.

Interpreting the results

From these findings, we could draw the conclusion that fertility in northern Sudan will not change much in the immediate future. In the long run, however, as schooling for girls continues to increase, fertility rates will probably decline. These conclusions would represent our interpretation of the findings. In a sentence or two, we say what we think the findings mean. To summarize: results are based on data; results are facts. Statements that give meaning to the facts or results represent the researcher's interpretation of the results.

Generalizing the results

When a proper sample is used, researchers can extend a conclusion by saying what they think is true for the population based on what was learned from a sample. Thus, the results from the sample of 3,115 married women who supplied data for the Sudan Fertility Survey could be extended to describe fertility and conditions affecting fertility among the 3 million married women living in northern Sudan at the time the data were collected. When conclusions are extended in this way they are referred to as empirical generalizations. Empirical is used because the generalizations are based on data. The process of creating a generalization is called generalizing.