Investigation of Categorical Data from a Survey
Are you looking for a lesson plan that incorporates the four components of statistical problemsolving with a focus on categorical data?
An important distinction for students to understand and implement in a statistical study is how the analysis of numerical data is different from categorical data. Investigation 9 from Focus on Statistics: Investigations for the Integration of Statistics into Grades 9-12 Mathematics Classrooms by Sara Brown, Patrick Hopfensperger, and Henry Kranendonk is a free resource that uses an example of an initiative by students at an urban high school that involved collecting data from the student body about the school’s academic and extracurricular programs.
In the investigation, students will develop a statistical question based on the survey questions, discuss options to collect survey data, examine the data collection plan used by the high-school students, and summarize the results of categorical data using proportions and percentages.
If completing a survey project is part of the curriculum in a statistics class, this investigation is a good introduction to the possible constraints and challenges to be considered. This investigation is a Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Level B activity.
