Statistics Investigation

 Forming an investigation question

1.   Read the 2008 Questionnaire to see what kind of data is available.

2.   Create a question which will involve the comparison or combination of two or more pieces of information.

◦        Do more boys ride bikes to school than girls?

◦        Am I tall for my age?

◦        Do students who have pet dogs have greater access to mobile phones?

◦        Do students who eat cereal for breakfast have faster concentration times?

◦        Is there a relationship between concentration times and the time it took to complete the questionnaire?

  Getting the data

1.   Go to http://www.cas.abs.gov.au/cgi-local/cassampler.pl

2.   Read and accept the conditions of use

3.   Complete the form and click on the ‘Get the Sample’ button

Note       Question 1: select 2008 as the reference year

Question 2: select the option to display all questions

4.   Right mouse click on the link to the sample and select ‘Save As’.

5.   Rename the file and save in .XLS (Excel) format.

6.   Simplify the data - isolate the information that interests you

◦        Open the random data sample (MS Excel Workbook)

◦        Add a new sheet - go to Insert and select Worksheet.

◦        Copy the columns of data from the sample of interest to you - highlight columns, select Edit, then Copy.

◦        Paste columns into new sheet - ensure cell A1 is selected, select Edit, then Paste.

◦        Remove unwanted rows of data - click on the maximum row number you require, located on the far left of the sheet. Drag down until beyond the data, hit the Delete key.

Representing and analysing the data

Now that you have obtained your data, you will need to choose how to display and examine it, and answer your investigation question. You may use any of the methods we have covered in the Statistics unit. Your notes, and the textbook (Chapter 16) may be sources of information or ideas.

Prepare a report which explains the following:

◦        your investigation question

◦        how you obtained the data, what you did with the data, and why (eg. why did you choose to use a particular type of graph)

◦       an answer to your investigation question, including the reason(s) or argument(s) which support this answer