Collecting Raw Data

To determine a relationship between your variables, you need to have a large range and enough data points. A minimum of six data points is generally considered to be adequate, however you should collect as many as reasonably possible within the time frame.

The raw data should always be recorded directly into your logbook. Ensure that you measure everything that you need for your analysis. It is much better to measure something and then discover that you did not need to, than to start the analysis and realise that you did not measure something that you need.

Have a plan at the beginning of each lab session, to enable effective use of the time available. Check the data collected at the end of the session, and determine what you will need to collect in the next session.

Analysing your data

Having collected your data, there is usually a number of steps you need to take to analyse it. This allows you to draw meaningful conclusions from your investigation, leading you to either support of refute the hypothesis and answer the investigation question.

At this stage it is often useful to use descriptive statistics, such as calculating measures of center and measures of spread. Additional information about useful statistics and methods of presenting data is outlined on page 203-205 in the textbook.

Interpreting Results

After visualising and analysing the data, it is important to consider what the results mean. This includes determining any patterns or trends and considering if this reflects a true relationship between the variables.

Page 205 - 207 in the textbook describes what to look for when interpreting results and relating these to the hypothesis, including the types of relationships that may be observed in data.

Analysis and interpretation should be recorded in your logbook. Questions to assist can be found in the document to the right. You are not limited to these questions, include any information that you think will be relevant to the investigation.