Transcript OCR Nationals Level 3

OCR Nationals Level 3
Unit 3 – Problem Solving
A01 Define a statistical
problem to be
investigated
Spring Term 2010
D.Garey
Defining the Problem
• Needs to be something that you can easily
test (think in terms of access to
participants and data)
• Have a look at current events for
inspiration or….
Spring Term 2010
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Miss Garey’s Inspirations
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Social issues
Moral trends
Usage of ICT across generations
Opinions regarding current affairs
What ICT is used for
Media, TV and music
Health topics
Careers and the future
Spring Term 2010
D.Garey
Defining the Problem (2)
• After deciding on a topic, theme or area
you must research the field before posing
a question to investigate
• Start broad and general and then focus
down to the specifics
• Reference anything you use
• Your opinion doesn’t count!
• Explore both sides to any argument
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Some Research Terms
• Variable –characteristic/property of person,
object or situation
• Quantitative Variable –measurable i.e. height,
weight, IQ
• Qualitative Variable –categories such as sex,
nationality, blood type
• Independent variable (IV) –what is being
manipulated by the experimenter
• Dependent variable (DV) –what is being
measured during the experiment, supposedly
influenced by the IV
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More Research Terms
• Extraneous Variable –outside scope of control
that could influence outcomes
• Correlation –exploring affect of 2 variables in a
statistical test DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION!
• Between subjects factors –participant is tested
under only 1 condition
• Within Subjects –same participants perform
under both conditions (also termed repeated
measures)
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Hypotheses
• By now you should have decided what you want
to investigate
• You need to make SPECIFIC predictions about
what the outcome of your investigation will be
• It has to be testable by the gathering of data
• Directive Hypotheses (one tailed) state what the
outcome with be
• Two Tailed Hypotheses state 2 alternative
outcomes (either, or)
Spring Term 2010
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Defining the Problem Continued…
• You now need to identify your project
objectives and set your own success
criteria
• Show awareness of the Data Protection
Act when it comes to collecting, storing
and reporting data
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Types of Data
• 1) interval data –measurements on
independent scale with units
• 2) ordinal data –ranks/sequencing of
information
• 3)nominal/categorical data –qualitative
categories
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All investigations are either…
• Quantitative –measurable statistically,
countable, i.e. closed question surveys,
multiple choice, test conditions, empirical,
scientific
• Qualitative –observation notes, open
questioning, discourse analysis, transcript
analysis
Spring Term 2010
D.Garey
To complete A01…
• You must cover all of these points:
• identify the problem
• • explain background to the problem
• • set a hypothesis e.g. ‘Young people with Internet
access at home do better at school’
• • identify project objectives and success criteria
• • identify data to be collected and the method(s) of
processing
• • demonstrate an awareness of the Data Protection Act
1998
Spring Term 2010
D.Garey