Blogging Assignment #4 - Understanding Data

In post #4 you will show that you understand how to find and use data when you are researching a topic.  You will be using some of the skills we practiced last week when we were looking at data. You will demonstrate how to analyze data found in graphs, charts, and tables.

Do you remember the four questions we asked about the data we looked at?  If not, check the posters in the hallway to see what we did.  Look at the questions, then at the examples we all did together.  There are a lot of examples for each question. Review what we did together, and then get ready to practice it on your own for this new post!

For this assignment you will look for a variety of data about your topic.  You might find a graph, a data table, a map, or a chart. Your data might have information about salaries, occupation trends, or perhaps the future needs in your career goal.  Your data might show something about the required topics in your project:

1.  the type of work involved

2.  the education/training/experience required

3.  working conditions

4.  salary information (current and future)

5.  job availability (current and future)

6.  type of person best suited for this career

7.  the value of this work to society or our community

When you find your data (graph, chart, table) be sure to write down or note the website address where you found it so that you can get back to it.  You will need to cite your source in your blog post, as well.  You may include a link (see bar above) to the data or import the data into your post.  You must have at least one (but may include two or three) graphs, charts, maps, or tables to discuss in your blog post.

When you have found your data, here is what to do:

1. Describe your data. Tell what it is about.  Look at the title, the headings, and the labels.  Summarize what information is given in the graph.

2. Generate questions about the data.  What do you see that brings questions to your mind? Pretend you are a teacher and ask questions about the graph.  What questions can you think of that can be answered by looking at the graph?  What questions can you think of that the graph does not answer?  What questions do you have that can be answered by comparing or combining information from two or more of your charts or graphs?  You will want to ask questions that require some thought as well as the “right there” type of questions.

3.  Look for patterns and relationships in your data.  Describe the trends.  Do you see increases or decreases? What relationships are shown in your graph? Does anything recur?

4. Make some conclusions based on your data. What conclusions can you draw based on what your graph, chart, or table shows.  Think of your own career.  Does this data have any impact on your choices?   Think of what is in the chart or graph. What generalizations, opinions, conclusions can you make based on what you know and what is on the page?

5. Find connections between your data and what else you know.  If you have more than one source of data, what connections can you make between each of your graphs? How does what each shows relate to the information in the others?  How does this data connect to your own life?  How does it connect to what you have found in your previous research?  Is there any connection to the work you did for blog posts #1, #2, or #3?  Describe the relationships and connections you can think of.

When you have finished all of your writing, be sure to proofread. Use spell check.  Find and fix any problems with capitalization, spelling, and punctuation.  Read each sentence out loud to yourself and listen for any missing words or missing word parts.  Have a friend (a real friend, who will give you real constructive criticism) read and tell you what parts are unclear so that you can fix them.

The last thing you need to do is PUBLISH YOUR POST.  Remember, publishing your post is handing it in.  If you do not publish, your teacher cannot read your post, and your assignment will be Missing. 

Wow! You have done a lot of work so far, and we are about halfway there! Are you up for the hard work to come?  Don’t give up yet…the fun and creative part of your project is just ahead!

Four Questions for Data Analysis

These are the questions we need to work on to improve our understanding of data analysis and our scores on the data analysis tests. Check the wall in the hallway for more information and examples of what this looks like.

1.  What questions can we generate based on this data?

2.  What patterns/relationships do we see?

3.  What conclusions can we draw?

4.  What connections can we make (to our own lives, previous research, between and among these graphs)? Be sure to have them find the relationship between the last two items.