According to this article on the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), researchers have claimed ‘Didcot’, in Oxfordshire, is the most normal town in England. By examining the article, it is made apparent that the Office for National Statistics and the 2011 Census was the reason Didcot was voted the most normal town in England. However, it would be difficult to define the word ‘normal. The article states ‘Didcot town has been crowned the most normal in the county by a group of number crunching statisticians’. Therefore, the article doesn’t represent the population as they didn’t have a say.
By looking at the Office for National Statistics it is made obvious that Oxfordshire country has a medium rate of employment compared to other areas in the South East of England. The town of Didcot is said to have been the closest ‘statistical median’ when it comes to things like age, property ownership and ethnicity. There has not been a sample asking the citizens of Oxfordshire and other counties whether they think their town is ‘normal’. The statistical median doesn’t take into account immigrants, changes in income and changes in employment. People from other parts of the UK have similar employment, ethnicity and house ownership rates.
In the article, the mayor of the town is stating ‘Didcot is a diverse town’ and explaining the reasons why Didcot is the most normal town. The method used for this data is unreliable, as there was no mention of individuals being asked if they think their town in the most normal. Median age, wage and marital status doesn’t cause the town to be branded as normal. The headline cannot be based on the Office for National Statistics as it doesn’t represent the populations opinion. The town may have ‘extraordinary’ facts, but so does most town. Every town in the UK will have people that work hard and get on with their lives, therefore Didcot isn’t different.
Overall, the headline doesn’t reflect on the general population.