Statistics:

The Data Detective Process

Workshop

First Things First

Write the short date in your mathematics book

Write the title – Statistics Workshop 1 in your mathematics book

Underline both of these in red pen

What are we learning?

We are learning to:

Use a statistical investigation process with guidance

Identify parts of the statistical investigation process and what we need to do to complete them

Create our own statistical investigations

What are we going to do?

In this workshop we will:

Work through the data detective process using a simple example

Evaluate parts of the process using examples

Try out the process ourselves

Are You A Data Detective?Have a look at the poster below, with a buddy talk

about the different parts… what do they mean?

How would you complete them?

The Problem

This is the first step of the data detective process.

We define our problem or our question. We think

about how we are going to answer the question

Here’s our problem: (this is a make believe problem)We want to start selling sandwiches for lunch at Hillpark we don’t know how many students will buy and what they will pay for them. We also want to know what days to sell them on.

What could we do to help us to answer or solve this problem? Write some ideas down in your mathematics book and share them with your group.

The Problem

You might have come up with these answers or

some different ones…

1. Come up with questions you could ask students about sandwiches

2. Ask lots of students about buying sandwiches3. Create a survey for students4. Create a survey for parents5. Ask students and parents at the school gate.

The Plan

The plan involves working out what you are going to do to solve the problem.

Deciding what you will measure and how you will measure it. You also need

to decide how you will collect and record your data.

Here are some steps we could take to plan to solve our sandwich problem:1. Decide on three questions to ask students

2. Set up a survey form to use when asking students questions

3. Get the students to answer the questions4. Aim for at least ¼ of students

What three questions should we ask to solve our problem? How will we know we have the answer to our problem. Talk about this with your buddy.

The Plan

Here are some questions that you might have come

up with to help us to solve the problem . . .

1. Would you buy a sandwich for lunch? Yes/No2. What day would you be most likely to buy a sandwich

on? Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday3. How much would you be willing to pay for a sandwich?

a. $1-2b. $3-4c. $5+

We will know that we have solved the problem when we can say yes lets sell sandwiches because… or no lets not sell sandwiches because… and be able to give a reason for our answer.

The Data

This step involves the collection of the data, thinking about

how far we have come and how much more we need to

do. It also means we have to make sure the data is true

and correct.

When we are collecting our data we need to store it somehow. This time we are going to use our survey sheet from the previous slide.

Use the survey sheet to collect data on three classmates that are not in your mathematics group. Remember to make sure the are answering truthfully. Make sure each classmate is only asked once.

The Data

Once you’ve collected all of your data you need to

store it in the same place. Put all of the data your

group has collected together.

Once you have all of your data ready move to the next slide.

The Analysis

This step involves sorting and presenting your data in a

useable format. This is where we decide how to present

the information so that we can solve our problem.

We are going to use three different bar graphs to present the data we have collected. There are a number of things that a bar graph must have so that other people can read what it says.

What do we need to have in our bar graphs? Think about this with a buddy and write your answers into your mathematics book.

The Analysis

We need to make sure we have the right graph for

presenting our data and that we are able to use

the graph successfully.

For a bar graph you need to have the following:•A graph title•Labels for each axis•An appropriate scale on the Y axis (the right numbers)•Labels for each bar•Gaps between the bars•A ruler is used to draw the lines on the graph

Draw the bar graphs for each question you have asked your classmates. Take a peak at the next slide if you’re unsure where to start

The Analysis

Here are examples of what you might have created

for each graph.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

What Day Will Students Buy A Sandwich?

Day of the Week

Nu

mb

er o

f S

tud

ents

$1-2 $3-4 $5+0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Students Will Pay for Sandwiches

How Much Students Are Willing to Pay

Nu

mb

er o

f S

tud

ents

The Conclusion

During this step we look carefully at the graphs we have created. We

decide what the information has shown us and what our answer

to our question is. We also think about what other problems or

questions we might have for another investigation.

The graphs on the previous slides tell us that more students are willing to buy sandwiches on Fridays than any other day. It also tells us that they are willing to pay between $1 and $2 for them.So yes selling sandwiches would be a good idea because students will buy them if they are sold on a Friday.

What questions would we ask next? Do we need to gather more information to decide to sell our sandwiches? Talk about this with your buddy.

The Conclusion

We would need to start our data detective process

again to find more information before we start

selling our sandwiches.

You might have come up with these extra questions we need to ask:

1. Who will make the sandwiches?2. Where will they be sold?3. What will they have in them?4. Will we use different kinds of breads and fillings?

Are You A Data Detective? Now that you’ve been guided through a data

detective process it’s your turn.

Work with a buddy to go through the process.

Remember to record your findings in your

mathematics book.

Check out the examples on the next slide if you

need some problem ideas.

Are You A Data Detective? Problem Ideas

Holiday activities

Time on the internet, television, sleeping or…?

Basic facts practice times

Favourite websites

What you’d like to do before the end of the year

Movies you’ve seen

How people get to school

Remember to go to the next slide once you’ve

finished your investigation.

Evaluation

We need to look at what you’ve learnt and what you managed to complete.

Answer the questions on the following slides with a buddy.

How is your learning going?

Are you able to do these things?

Use a statistical investigation process with guidance

Identify parts of the statistical investigation process and what we need to do to complete them

Create our own statistical investigations

How did you go?

Did you get all this completed?

Work through the data detective process using a simple example

Evaluate parts of the process using examples

Try out the process ourselves

Congratulations

You’re on your way to becoming a data detective!

A little more practice and you’ll be able to conduct your own investigations with ease