{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/keep-the-ingredients-of-a-ratio",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0273",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Keep the ingredients of a ratio",
  "summary": "The same ratio can hide two very different stories.",
  "kind": "checklist",
  "body": "Retain the component measurements as well as the final ratio. A change may come from its numerator, denominator or both. NIST's experimental-design guidance recommends preserving this information so later interpretation is not trapped inside a compressed number.",
  "limits": [
    "Additional data collection still needs a justified purpose and appropriate privacy controls."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-statistical-judgment"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-692255B469883C26"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "When an experimental response is a ratio, recording its component measurements preserves information that the ratio alone loses.",
      "source_id": "RS-692255B469883C26",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "Collect only information justified by the question and relevant data-governance constraints.",
      "locator": "Selecting responses and components"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "An experiment or dashboard reports only a composite rate, efficiency or cost-per-unit figure."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Additional data collection still needs a justified purpose and appropriate privacy controls."
  ],
  "example": "Cost per resolved case can fall because costs fell or because many easy cases entered the denominator.",
  "check": "You can reconstruct the ratio and explain the movement of its components.",
  "checklist": [
    "The numerator and denominator are recorded with compatible scopes.",
    "Each component can be inspected over the relevant period or condition.",
    "The explanation identifies which component changed rather than celebrating the ratio alone."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-692255B469883C26",
      "title": "Choosing Variables and Levels",
      "url": "https://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/pri/section3/pri32.htm"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0273",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-0251",
      "type": "useful_with",
      "url": "/knowledge/build-an-overall-rate-from-totals"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-D4FD0B28897E9517",
      "title": "Check what a study can actually tell you",
      "url": "/collections/check-what-a-study-can-actually-tell-you"
    }
  ]
}