Data and Graphs

Total Number of Actions Executed by Each Gender

We begin the analysis of our research with this first graph portraying the number of actions taken on by each gender. The graph applies to the collection of stories we analyzed as a whole. We also decided to include a separate category for Holmes and Watson, separate from the male category, since they play such a large role in each of the stories. Their roles as main characters nearly guarantee both characters a great deal of agency, so it would not be far to count them with the rest of the male characters, especially in comparison to the female category which does not include any recurring main characters. As we show in our chart, we found that men commit about twice as many actions than females over the course of the nine stories we analyzed. Holmes and Watson commit less than men, but still more than women.

Total Word Count Spoken By Each Gender

Next, we have utilized our data to create a graph conveying the total spoken word count of each gender over the course of multiple stories. Again, we have placed Holmes and Watson in their own category since they, as main characters, are almost guaranteed many lines of dialogue. We have decided to use word count rather than merely counting the number of quotes from each gender because it is not uncommon to read long paragraphs of dialogue from a character; however, these paragraphs would only count as one quote, which is not giving the character as much credit for their agency as they deserve, especially in comparison to a character who may speak multiple times but only answers in short responses. As the chart shows, Holmes and Watson have the highest word count. This is irreleveant to our conclusion though. Instead we should focus on the apparent stark difference between male and female word count. The analysis has determined that men spoke almost four times as many words as the female characters.

Average Number of Actions Executed by Each Member of Each Gender

Finally, this graph displays the average number of actions done by each female, as well as for each male. We did not include Holmes and Watson in this graph because their data is not relevant to the graph or our research question, and may, in fact, throw it off. The average number of actions done by each character of each gender was found by taking the numbers seen in the first graph, (the total number of actions executed by all characters of each gender over the course of multiple stories), and dividing it by the number of characters presented of each gender. Because of the number of total actions committed, it was no surpise when our graphs determined that men committed more actions than females.