For a science and math assignment, fifth grader Sharron walked throughout her school taking digital pictures of objects that had basic geometric shapes. Her hypothesis was: there are more squares occurring naturally in the environment than any other shape. During her walk throughout the school campus, Sharron took pictures of objects that were square, rectangular, triangular, oval, and circular. She looked hard for squares in the environment and was able to snap a respectable number of pictures. When she completed a graph of the shapes, sure enough her hypothesis was correct, and the square was the shape that occurred most frequently in nature.
Cartoon of student climbing a triangle.Oddly, another fifth grader, Scott, predicted that data would show there were more triangles occurring in nature than any other shape. Scott also walked throughout the school campus taking pictures of objects that were square, rectangular, triangular, oval, and circular. Scott looked hard for triangles. When he completed his graph of the shapes, sure enough his hypothesis was correct, and the triangle was the shape that occurred most frequently in nature.
Why did Sharron and Scott obtain different results? Even when you collect quantitative datadata you can countyou cannot assume the data is accurate. You must collect and interpret without bias.
To prepare for the following Discussions, review the Learning Resources to note how and why data may be collected and interpreted in an unreliable manner.
Review Jeff Lubsens social change video highlighting his response to the research that identified a disparity in LGBT health care. In addition, consider viewing the optional video, Roslings The Joy of Stats. Consider how the individuals featured in this weeks Learning Resources have applied statistics to the problem-solving process.
Credit for graphics: Microsoft Corporation (Producer). MC900048064 [Illustration of student standing on geometric shape, triangle]. Retrieved October 2nd, 2013, from: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=geometric+shapes&ex=1#ai:MC900048064|
Discussion A (Required for all students)
Review the assigned pages in Gladwells Outliers as well as the articles on statistics. Consider how statistical data were used in the examples in the Learning Resources.
Identify two examples in the Learning Resources and explain how statistics were used in each example. State whether statistics were used effectively in each example, and explain why. Finally, explain a strategy you could use to ensure the data you collect and interpret is done in a reliable manner.
