ASSESSING STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDING OF STATISTICAL CONCEPT:

MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY AND VARIABILITY

TT60104 RESEARCH METHOD IN EDUCATION

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH PROPOSAL

SITI SHAHIRAH BINTI SAIDI

MP1612162T

Chapter 1
 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

Education is very important element in the life of our society. This is due to the fact that
education is a social institution that plays an important role in providing employment of
specialist, technical and professional. In addition, education also can shape the attitudes, values
and mindset such as, willing to accept change, innovation as well as the use of science and
technology in the field of work and everyday life, especially among the younger generation
(Robiah et.al, 2001).

The education system is the pillar for the development of society and the state to be
more advanced economically, politically, and socially. Malaysia is a multiracial country and
religion. Education policy is implemented not only aims to provide education in schools, but also
as a channel for the realization of the unity of the nation. With the school system, the
community can be formed by providing education to all Malaysians regardless of race and
religion (Mior, 2011). In other words, education not only serves as a medium for educational
purpose, but also serves as a medium to unite people of all races and religions in Malaysia.

Besides that, education also serves as a medium to create a better person who can
contribute to the development of society and country. Malaysia National Education Philosophy
states that education in Malaysia is an ongoing effort towards developing the individuals’
potential, comprehensive and integrated to produce a balanced and harmonious person
intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically based on the trust and obedience to God.
The aim is to produce a knowledgeable, competent, honorable, responsible Malaysian citizens
and also contribute to the harmony of family, society, and the country (Mohini and
Fatmahanim, 2010).

Vision 2020 is a vision introduced by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the fourth Prime
Minister of Malaysia, which aims to develop the country entirely by 2020. Education is an
important aspect to realize that vision. Therefore, teachers should be wise to diversify teaching
methods and strategies for teaching and learning to be effective, thereby improving the
performance of students in every field of knowledge.

1.2 Background of Study

The field of statistics offers methods for using data to solve problems and inform decisions. In
today’s data driven society, these methods are of extreme importance. In particular, statistical
methods provide a means for dealing with variability in data, so they play a large role in
research and organized inquiry. Given a question of interest, statistical theories dictate the ways
that sample data should be gathered, descriptive statistics should be used to describe and
analyze the data, and inferential statistical methods should be used to draw conclusions about
populations based on analysis of data samples. Due to the utility and power of statistical
concepts and methods, individuals are in contact with statistics almost daily, either as
consumers of information obtained from statistical study or as producers engaged in the
research process (Smith, 2008).

Many have known that statistics plays an important role in realizing the dream of our
country to become a developed country by 2020. The importance of the subject leads to
making the subject compulsory to be offered to students in Higher Education Institutes in
Malaysia, especially in faculty of science, engineering, economics, ICT, and medicine. Most
undergraduate majors require a statistics course as a pre-requisite or in fulfillment of general
education requirements. Faculty of engineering for example, take seriously the emphasis on
statistics to students. Many courses involving mathematics and statistics have been created to
produce excellent engineering graduates (Noor et. al, 2015).

Besides that, Statistics and Probability is a compulsory subject in the Faculty of

Information and Science Technology (FTSM), which aims to give exposures towards the basic
statistical concepts and techniques applicable in research and industry (Noraidah, et. al, 2011).
The course content includes presentation of quantitative data, data description, probability,
random and discrete variables, continuous and sampling distribution. The subject also
introduces inference statistics, which is a hypothesis approximation and testing.

Statistics is both a formal science and a practical theory of scientific inquiry, and both
aspects are considered in statistics education. Education in statistics has similar concerns as
does education in other mathematical sciences, like logic, mathematics, and computer science.
At the same time, statistics is concerned with evidence based reasoning, particularly with the
analysis of data. Therefore, education in statistics has strong similarities to education in
empirical disciplines like psychology and chemistry, in which education is closely tied to "hands-
on" experimentation.
 Statistics is the study of numerical information, which is called data. People use statistics
as tools to understand information. Learning to understand statistics helps a person react
intelligently to statistical claims. Statistics are used in the fields of business, math, economics,
accounting, banking, government, astronomy, and the natural and social sciences.

Businesses use statistics to find customer preferences, check the quality of products,
market products, estimate costs and make decisions. Statistics also help make mathematical
theories more accurate. Meanwhile, economists use statistics to find the relationship between
supply and demand, the relationship between imports and exports, the inflation rate, the per
capita income, and the national income rate. Accountants use statistics to see how well a
company is doing, discover trends and create projections for the next year. Bankers use
statistics to estimate the number of people depositing money versus the number requesting
loans.

The government uses statistics federally and locally to make budgets, set the minimum
wage and discover the cost of living. Statistics also importance in astronomy field to estimate
the distance between objects in space and the timing of interstellar events. Meanwhile, people
working in the natural and social sciences use statistics to form theories on what they're
studying, whether it's estimating large populations, predicting the weather or studying the
human brain.

In the field of education, test score trends are one of the most commonly used statistics
They are used to evaluate the effectiveness of classroom teachers and the validity of the tests
themselves as well as the effects of various risk factors on educational outcomes. Standardized
tests take their value from the fact that all students in a particular state or region take them,
showing competency in a way that individual grades cannot because grades vary by teacher.

Another statistic that plays an important role in educational policy planning is the
comparison of test scores and other objective outcomes for members of various ethnic
subgroups. Because of the risk factors that accompany specific subgroups, educational planners
are charged with the task of closing the achievement gaps between various ethnic subgroups as
well as between the student body as a whole and students of low socioeconomic status.
1.3 Statement of the Problem

Most of the students who took a statistics course will be taught about the topic of descriptive
statistics, particularly measures of central tendency (mean, mode, and median) and variability
(range, variance and standard deviation). However, there has been a concern that although the
students can successfully follow the procedure to calculate the given questions and find the
answer correctly, they do not understand the reasoning behind the process. For example, it
appears that students find difficulty in explaining and understand what standard deviation and
variance really is, and what is the difference between mean, mode and median.

According to Jolliffe (1990), it is a common experience for teachers when teaching

statistics to their students at school, students find it is hard to understand the statistical concept
and formulae even though they can answer the question correctly. A student who has produced
a correct "solution" does not necessarily understand the solution, or even the "question" behind
it. It should be possible to assess understanding through the practical skills of doing and
communicating statistics.

Since the student finds the typical exposition so baffling, the student's defence is to rely
solely on the memorization of formulae. The memorized formulae are then inserted into
“problems” for which rules of thumb have been developed, often aided by the instructor, to
know which formula is to be plugged into which problem. (Ramsey, 1990). This is not a bad
strategy for getting a good grade in the course. However, once the memorization strategy has
been espoused, learning by the student is now entirely lost.

Hence, this research is conducted in order to assess students’ understanding of

statistical concepts, particularly in the measures of central tendency (mode, mean, and median)
and variability (variance and standard deviation) by undergraduate students in Universiti
Malaysia Sabah.

1.4 Objective of the Study

The objectives of the study are to:

1. Assess students’ understanding of measures of central tendency.

2. Assess students’ understanding of measures of variability.

3. Compare the differences in students’ understanding of measures of central tendency
between those students who have studied statistics in their previous mathematics
courses and those who have not.

4. Compare the differences in students’ understanding of measures of variability

between those students who have studied statistics in their previous mathematics
courses and those who have not.

1.5 Research Questions

This research is trying to answer the following questions:

1. What is the students’ understanding of measures of central tendency?

2. What is the students’ understanding of measures of variability?

3. Are there any differences in students’ understanding of measures of central tendency

between those students who have studied statistics in their previous mathematics
courses and those who have not?

4. Are there any differences in students’ understanding of measures of variability

between those students who have studied statistics in their previous mathematics
courses and those who have not?

1.6 Statement of the Hypotheses

The null hypotheses of the study are:

𝐻01 : There is no significance difference in in students’ understanding of measures of central

tendency between those students who have studied statistics in their previous
mathematics courses and those who have not.

𝐻02 : There is no significance difference in in students’ understanding of measures of

variability between those students who have studied statistics in their previous
mathematics courses and those who have not.
1.7 Limitations of the Study

This study was limited to the assessment of students’ understanding of statistics concepts in
three faculties in Universiti Malaysia Sabah. This study also will involve X students who took a
Statistics subject in their undergraduate studies. The results of this study will represent the
population of undergraduate students in Universiti Malaysia Sabah. The result of the study can
be generalized the students’ understanding of statistical concepts in Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

1.8 Definitions of Terms

The following definitions of terms are being used for the research purpose:

1.8.1 Understanding

Understanding refers to the ability to understand something. In this study, understanding refers
to the ability of students to understand statistical concepts.

1.8.2 Students

Student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In this study, students
refer to undergraduate students who took Statistics subject during their study in Universiti
Malaysia Sabah.

1.8.3 Statistical Concepts

A statistical concept is a statistical characteristic of a time series or an observation. In this

study, statistical concepts refer to measures of central tendency (mean, mode and median) and
variability (variance and standard deviation).

1.9 Significance of the Study

Various parties can benefit from this research. Using quantitative approaches and involving
students as co-researcher, we can better assess and understand about students’ understanding
of statistical concepts, particularly measures of central tendency and variability and examine the
factors that contribute to students' understanding of statistical concepts nowadays.

Besides that, the results of this study may help the teachers or lecturers to develop their
lesson plan and better assess their role in teaching students about statistical concept. Results
from this study also will help to set the framework for a more in-depth study in a large lecture
introductory statistics course on how students conceptualize variability and central tendency.

1.10 Conclusion

Overall, this chapter discusses the research background, problem statement, purpose of the
study and research questions. This chapter also presents the research objectives, hypotheses,
limitations of the study, the significance of research and definitions of terms.