Simple Principles of Data Analysis

Author(s): Julia H. Cothron, Ronald N. Giese and Richard J. Rezba

Source: The American Biology Teacher, Vol. 51, No. 7 (Oct., 1989), pp. 426-428
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the National Association of Biology
Teachers
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How-T-o-Do-It
Simple Principlesof Data Analysis
JuliaH. Cothron
RonaldN. Giese
RichardJ. Rezba
Developing students' ability to ana-
lyze and interpretdata is a valued goal
of science education and a key to stu-
dents becoming scientifically literate.
Techniquesproposed for the teaching
of data analysis range from the inade-
quate strategy of having students an-
swer a series of direct questions about
data to teaching students how to
mathematicallyanalyze and describe
their personal data in paragraphform.
With the exception of Biological
Sciences Curriculum Study's Interac-
tion of Experimentsand Ideas, science
textbooks do not discuss the simple
descriptive statistics necessary for
data analysis. Middle and high school
students can learn to use these basic
descriptive statistics on data gener-
ated in class or in independent
projects. Measures of central ten-
dency, i.e., the most typicalvalue in a
set of data, and variation,i.e., spread
within the data, are the most funda-
mental and can be taught in three to
five class periods.
Basic ExperimentalTerms
A first level of data analysis is being
able to determine which data describe
the independent variable, the depen-
dent variable, the constants, the con-
trol and repeated trials. A scenario
such as the following provides a basis
for this level of analysis. It also serves
both as a quick review and mind set
for furtheranalysis.
Maryinvestigatedthe effectof dif-
ferentconcentrations of chemicalX on
the growthof tomatoplants.Maryhy-
Table 1. GeneralOverview of Data Analysis
QuantitativeData
TwoMajorQuestions
What is the centralor most
typical value of the data?
What is the variationor spread
in the data?
426 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, VOLUME 51, NO. 7, OCTOBER 1989
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pothesized that if higher concentra-
tions of chemical X were added, the
plants would exhibit poorer growth.
She grew four flats of tomato plants
(10 plants/flat)for 15 days. She then
applied chemicalX as follows: Flat A,
0%chemical;flat B, 10%chemical;flat
C, 20% chemical, and flat D, 30%
chemical. The plants received the
same amount of sunlight and water
each day. At the end of 30 days, Mary
recorded the height of the plants (in
centimeters)and the colorof the leaves
(green, yellow-green, yellow, or
brown).
The concentrationof chemicalX is the
independentvariablewhich was pur-
posefully changed by the experi-
menter. The color of leaves and height
of the plants were the dependentvari-
ables that responded to the change.
Constantsare the factors that are held
the same for all samples, e.g., amount
of sunlight and water. The group that
received no treatment(0%chemicalX)
is the controlgroupand is used to as-
sess the effect of any unforeseen vari-
able. Each of the plants receiving fer-
tilizerrepresentsa repeated trialfor that
value of the independent variable.
Collectively repeated trials serve to
warrant increased confidence in the
findings, i.e., that the results do not
occur merely by chance. Some stu-
dents may have difficulty with these
concepts. Provide such students with
several scenarios similar to the above
and have them practiceidentifyingex-
amples of the various parts of an ex-
periment. If you have students write
abstracts of their research this year,
they will make good practiceexamples
for your classes next year.
QualitativeData
(Observations)
(Measurements)
Mean Mode
Range Frequencydistribution
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Quantitative vs
Qualitative Data
Discuss the two types of data col-
lected in Mary's experiment described
above. Distinguish between the two
major types of data, quantitative and
qualitative.
Quantitativedata
Data that are based upon measure-
ments using a scale with equal in-
tervals are quantitative. Examples are
the height of tomato plants in centi-
meters, the mass of rabbits in kilo-
grams, and the temperature of water
in degrees Celsius.
Qualitativedata
Qualitative data are also observa-
tions but do not use a scale with equal
intervals. Examples include the
gender (male/female) of an organism
and the color of plant leaves (brown/
yellow/yellow-green/green). Such cat-
egories and the operational definitions
of their boundaries may be developed
by the experimenter from a review of
the literature or after collecting data.
Julia H. Cothron is directorof secondary
education and science for HanoverCounty
Public Schools, 200 Berkley St., Ashland,
VA 23005. She has a B.S. and M.Ed. from
ValdostaState College and an Ed.D. from
the University of Virginia. She currently
serves as president of the VirginiaScience
SupervisorsAssociation. Ronald N. Giese
is a professor in the School of Education,
College of William and Mary, Williams-
burg, VA 23185.Giese has a M.S. in educa-
tion and an Ed.D. fromTempleUniversity.
He has served as projectdirector/principal
instructor on state and federally funded
projects. Richard J. Rezba is an associate
professorin the Division of TeacherEduca-
tion, Virginia Commonwealth University,
Richmond,VA 23284.Rezbahas a master's
degree in geology from the University of
Floridaand a master'sin earth science and
a Ph.D. in science education from Indiana
University. He has taught both in public
schools in Floridaand at various universi-
ties.
 chemical e.g., 0, 10, 20, 30, 70. Write between the smallest and largestvalue
Table2. Raw Data:Height of the independent variable, concentra- observed.
Plants (cm) tion of chemical X, across the top of
the rectangle. Review the two major Example:
15 18 12 6 ways to mathematicallydepict a set of 7 15 10
14 20 10 8 data by describing the central value 6 13 10
13 14 14 5 and the variationwithin the data set.
15 20 10 4 5 12 8
Ask the students to examine Table 1 5 11 7
15 18 8 4 and to identify the terms that are used
17 19 8 5 4 9 5
to describe the central value (mean), 3 9 4
18 18 10 8 and the variation (range) of quantita-
12 18 10 7 Min = 3 Min = 9 Min = 4
tive data. Expand the rectangle to in- Max = 7 Max = 15 Max = 10
19 17 11 8 corporatea column of descriptive in- Range = 4 Range = 6 Range = 6
15 19 12 5 formationwhich includes these terms
and the number of measurements Using Mary'sraw data, calculatethe
made (Table3). mean, range and number for each
Provide students with definitions of concentration of chemical X. Intro-
Have students describe the kinds of the terms and examples of how to cal- duce the concept of number (N) as the
data reported in the above experi- culate: total of cases, samples or individuals
mental scenario and then classify this tested in each trial. Ask the students,
data as quantitative or qualitative. Mean:arithmeticaverage of sum of
the individualvalues divided by the "Would the experiment be stronger,
Qualitative data must be mathemati- weaker or no differentif Maryhad 50
cally analyzed differentlythan quanti- number of cases.
seeds per tray ratherthan 10?"Gener-
tative data. Example: ally the larger the N, the more confi-
sum of all values dence you can place in your results,
GeneralOverviewof Mean =
number of cases
e.g., 75 out of 100 is more convincing
Data Analysis data than 7 out of 10. Communication
5 + 6 + 4 + 5+ 7+ 3 is helped by including the minimum
Introduce students to the idea that 6 and maximumvalues in the data chart
there are two important ways to de- 30 (Table4).
scribe a set of data. For quantitative 6 Help the students form an appro-
and qualitative data, different names priatetitle that includes a statementof
and mathematical methods are used -5 the effect of the independent variable
to calculate values that describe the Minimum:the smallest value of a (concentrationof chemical X) on the
data's central value and the variation variable. specific dependent variable(height of
within the data. Table 1 may be used Maximum:the largestvalue of a vari- tomato plants).
as an advance organizer for special able.
terms that will be introducedover sev- Range:the value obtained when the QualitativeData Analysis
eral days. minimumvalue is subtractedfrom the
Centralvalue is the most typical or maximum value. It is the difference Provide students with a set of raw
central value of the data set. Two
common values used to describe cen-
tral value are the mean for quantita-
tive data and mode for qualitative
data. Table3. Formatfor Data Table
Variation describes the spread Concentration
of ChemicalX
within a data set. Two common ways
to describe variation are range for DescriptiveInformation 0% 10% 20% 30%
quantitative data and frequency for
qualitativedata. Mean
Range
Constructinga Data Chartfor Number
QuantitativeData
Provide students with a set of raw
data or measurements that were col- Table4. Effectof VariousConcentrationsof ChemicalX on the Height of
lected by Mary when she conducted Tomato Plants (cm)
her experimentto determinethe effect
of various concentrationsof chemical Concentration
of ChemicalX
X on the height of tomato plants
(Table2). DescriptiveInformation 0% 10% 20% 30%
Mean 15.3 cm 18.1 cm 10.5 cm 6.0 cm
Quantitative data analysis
Range 7 cm 6 cm 6 cm 4 cm
Lead students into the division of a Minimum 12 cm 14 cm 8 cm 4 cm
data chartby having them draw a rect- Maximum 19 cm 20 cm 14 cm 8 cm
angle divided into four sections. Label Number 10 plants 10 plants 10 plants 10 plants
each section with a concentration of

ANALYSIS 427

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Table5. Raw Data:Color of Leaves
0% 10% 20% 30%
G G YG Y would be reported as yellow, 5;
G G G Y
YG G YG B Using Mary'sraw data, calculatethe
G G YG B mode and frequency distribution of
G G Y Y
G C Y B
G C Y B
YG G YG B propriate title by stating the effect of
G G YG Y the independent variable (concentra-
G G G Y
Key:G = green, YG = yellow-green,
Y = yellow, B = brown.
data collected by Mary when she de-
termined the effect of various concen-
trations of chemical X on the color of
tomato plant leaves (Table5). Review
the major ways to describe a set of
data; describe the central value and
the variation within the qualitative
data. Ask the students to examine
Table 1 and tell you the special terms
that are used to describe the central
value, or mode, and the variation, or
frequency distribution, of qualitative
data. Draw the appropriatedata chart.
Provide students with the terms,
modes and frequencyvalue, their def-
initions and examples of how to calcu-
late them.
Mode:the most frequently occur-
ring value. In the case of a tie, cite
both values.
Example:
Consider the color data for 0%con-
centration in Table 5. The mode
would be green since there are eight
greens and two yellow-greens. Now
look at the data for 30%concentra-
tion. There are five yellows and five
browns. The data are bimodal. Both
values are reported, e.g., mode is
yellow-brown.
Frequencydistribution: the number
of cases that fall into each category
of the variable.
Again consider the colordata for 0%
concentration in Table 5. The fre-
quency would be reportedas green,
8; yellow-green, 2; and N = 10. For
30% concentration the frequency
brown, 5; N = 10.
the color for each concentration of
chemical X and check your results in
Table6. Help the students forman ap-
tion of chemicalX) on the specific de-
pendent variable (color of tomato
plant leaves).
Extensionsfor Older Students
With older or more experiencedstu-
dents, subdivisions of quantitative
data (interval versus ratio) and quali-
tative data (nominal versus ordinal)
may be introduced. The appropriate-
ness of various measures of central
tendency-mean, median, mode-
for each type of data can be discussed
(see Figure 7). More precise proce-
dures of describing variation in-
cluding variance and standard de-
viation can be incorporated. For
additional information on these de-
scriptive techniques, see the BSCS
text, Interaction of Experiments and
Ideas.
Evaluationof effectiveness
Since 1982 the techniques described
above have been used with students,
Table6. The Effectof Various Concentrationsof ChemicalX on the Color of
Tomato Plant Leaves
Descriptive
Information 0%
Mode Green
Frequency G: 8
distribution YG:2
Y: 0
B:0
Number 10 plants
grades 6 through 12, in the Hanover
County Public Schools. From 1982 to
1987 the number of participating
teachers increased from 3 to 27 and
the number of classes from 5 to 71, in-
cluding both honors and regular stu-
dents. Initially, the strategies were
used with independent student re-
search projects. Later, laboratoryac-
tivities which accompanythe adopted
textbooks were modified to incorpo-
rate these principles. From 1982 to
1987, the number of student papers
accepted at the VirginiaJunior Acad-
emy of Science increased from 38 to
142 with Hanover students leading
the state in numbers of awards re-
ceived in 1985, 1986 and 1987. Han-
over students have represented Vir-
ginia at the American Academy of
Science and the National Science and
HumanitiesSymposium.
Because of Hanover students' suc-
cess, the VirginiaAcademy of Science
sponsored a special workshop in 1986
to introduce these techniques to other
Virginia teachers. Julia Cothron, Ron
Giese and Dick Rezba have taught
these concepts through college
courses and staff development work-
shops and have been funded by the
Virginia Council of Higher Education
to teach courses across the Common-
wealth of Virginiain Fall, 1988.
References
Biological Science Curriculum Study.
(1983).Interaction andIdeas.
of Experiments
Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall.
Concentration
of ChemicalX
10% 20% 30%
Green Yellow-green Yellow-brown
G: 10 G: 2 G: 0
YG: 0 YG:5 YG:0
Y: 0 Y: 3 Y: 5
B: 0 B:0 B: 5
10 plants 10 plants 10 plants

Table 7. GeneralOverview of Data Analysis

QualitativeData(Observations)
Data
Quantitative Nominal Ordinal
Typeof Information (Measurements) (Categories)' (Ranked)'
What is the most typical or centralvalue? Mean Mode Median2
What is the variationor spread? Range Frequencydistribution Frequencydistribution
1 The subdivisions of qualitative data (nominal, ordinal) and standard deviation are introduced only to older or more ad-
vanced students.
2
Standarddeviation.
428 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, VOLUME 51, NO. 7, OCTOBER 1989

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