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Data Collection Planning

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Data Collection Planning

Read the scenario, then plan how to collect useful data. Think about who to ask, what to measure, and how to be fair and respectful.

The lunchtime question

A group of students wants to find out which lunchtime activities are most popular with Year 6 students. They plan to ask students from their year group. They could ask each person to choose one activity from a list, such as football, skipping, drawing, reading, or another activity. They want to share the results with the school, but they will not write down anyone’s name.

1.Write a clear investigative question that matches the group’s goal of finding out which lunchtime activities are most popular with Year 6 students.

2.Who is the group of interest in this investigation? Explain why asking only students who play football would not represent the whole group fairly.

3.Which information should the students record for each person? Choose the best answer.

Their favourite lunchtime activity
Their full name and home address
How many friends they have
What they ate for breakfast

4.A student suggests asking, “You like football best, don’t you?” Rewrite this as a neutral survey question that does not steer the person towards an answer.

5.The group wants to ask many Year 6 students the same question and record one answer from each. Which method is most suitable, and what is one reason?

6.True or false: Asking only the first five students who arrive at the football field is likely to give a fair picture of all Year 6 students’ favourite activities. Explain your answer.

7.Complete a simple recording plan. Write one activity category in each row, then use tally marks as students answer. Include an “Other” category so people can give an answer not on the list.

Activity

Tally

Total

Football

Skipping

Drawing

Reading

Other

8.Name two things the survey team should do to collect data ethically and respectfully.

9.Write a practical plan stating when and where the group could collect answers, how they will make sure students can choose not to answer, and how they will keep responses private.