From Questions to Data Collection: Designing Simple Investigations

Section From Questions to Data Collection: Designing Simple Investigations

Once students have developed good data questions (from Module 1), they need to learn how to collect information to answer those questions. The design of a data investigation is just as important as the analysis—poor collection methods lead to unreliable conclusions.

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Checkpoint 29.

A student wants to investigate: “Do students in our school prefer summer or winter activities?” What’s the first step in designing this investigation?

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Hint.

Think about what specific information they would need to collect to answer this question.

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Answer.

Define what they mean by “summer activities” and “winter activities” and decide who they’ll ask.

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Solution.

Before collecting any data, students need to be specific about their terms. What counts as a summer activity? Are we talking about outdoor vs. indoor activities, or activities that can only be done in certain seasons? Who will they survey—the whole school, certain grades, or their class? These planning decisions directly affect what conclusions they can draw from their data.

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Exploration 10. Try This Week: Simple Investigation Design.

Time needed: 20 minutes of planning, plus time for data collection

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How it works: Walk students through designing a simple investigation using this framework:

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1. Clarify the Question: What exactly are we trying to find out? What do key terms mean?

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2. Define the Population: Who will we ask? Everyone in the class? School? Grade level?

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3. Plan Data Collection: How will we ask the question? When? Where?

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4. Consider Ethics: Is this information private? Do we need permission?

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5. Plan Organization: How will we record and organize responses?

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Elementary Example: “What’s the most popular lunch food in our class?” → Define “lunch food” (main dish? including sides?), survey all classmates, use tally marks to record responses.

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Secondary Example: “How do study habits vary by grade level?” → Define “study habits” (time spent? location? methods?), survey students from different grades, use a simple form to record multiple pieces of information.

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Checkpoint 30. Choosing Data Collection Methods.

Different questions require different approaches to data collection.

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(a)

For the question “How many books do students read per month?”, should you use observation, survey, or measurement?

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Hint.

Consider what method would give you the most accurate information about students’ reading habits.

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Answer.

Survey - students need to self-report their reading habits.

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(b)

For “How long does it take students to complete a math worksheet?”, what method would work best?

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Hint.

Think about whether you can directly observe this information.

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Answer.

Measurement/observation - you can time students as they work.

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The data collection method should match what you’re trying to find out. Some things can be observed directly, others require asking people for information.

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In this video you can see a part of the process a group of students went through to answer the question ’What do you do when you witness bullying?’

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Checkpoint 31.

Think of a question your students have asked recently (or might ask) about something in your curriculum. Walk through the 5-step investigation design process. What challenges might you encounter?

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