AO2 - Design and carry out a data collection activity

Task 1
Prepare a report outlining:

a) The design of your data collection activities, including:

• your research method - look at quantitative and qualitative research. You should indicate what you will be doing, how you will do it.

• your data collection method i.e.  questionnaire and what you need to consider when designing it.

• definition of the data you need to gather in order to support or disprove your hypothesis.

b) The areas of potential error in your sampling regime, and explain the steps you have taken to eliminate bais from your study. You should also describe any constraints that affect the reliability of your study.

c) The hardware and software required to carry out the task.

Task 2

Make the questionnaire.

Ensure the questions you ask will be easily analysed. Responses should be yes or no, a number ( not "5 hours" but "5"), and option such as " always, sometimes, occasionally, never" 

Ensure the questions are relevant and that they will prove or disprove the hypothesis.

AO3 - Data Validation

What is Validation?

Validation is checking the data.
It is carried out by the software.
It is done at the time of input.
It is done to ensure that the data is reasonable or acceptable.

Validation does not ensure accuracy!

Task 1
Add some validation to the cells that will have the answers entered into them.
Use at least three different types of validation.

• List
• Range check
• Look up
• Format check

AO3 Collect and Store data

You will need a spreadsheet to enter the answers to your data collection activity.

Task 1

Set up a spreadsheet with the following sheet names:

Sheet 1 Main page

Sheet 2 Questionnaire

Sheet 3 Results

Sheet 4 Graphs

 

Task 2

Enter your questions onto the sheet

Data Protection Act

Task 1
Explain how you will comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 while dealing with the data you collect for the survey.

You have to demonstrate an understanding of the Act.

Unit 3 Problem Solving - AO1

This unit is about investigating a 'problem'.

You will consider what you are going to investigate,

set a hypothesis, collect data and analyse it before

presenting the results of your investigation.

One approach is hypothesis testing - assuming a possible explanation to the problem and trying to prove the assumption.


Your research will be looking into how aware are students of various ages of the dangers of chatrooms and social networking.


Your hypothesis may be something like
"Year 7 students are more aware of the dangers of chatrooms and social networking than Year 11 students"


Task 1

Do some research to find evidence that the problem exists.
Record the sources of all the information that you use.

Task 2

Set a hypothesis that you can test using questionnaires.
Make sure the hypothesis is complex for example include more than one age group to be questioned.

Task 3

Describe the criteria you will have satisfied to show you have successfully carried out the analysis.

Task 4

Identify what data you will need to collect to test the hypothesis.
Explain how it will be analysed.