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Research Notes Discussions

The document outlines the process of planning and conducting experiments, including data collection, organization, and analysis. It explains the formulation of hypotheses, the role of variables, and the use of tables and graphs to represent data visually. Additionally, it describes different types of graphs and their applications in displaying and comparing data.

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Ma Maudie Arah O Garcia
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© © All Rights Reserved
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3 views

Research Notes Discussions

The document outlines the process of planning and conducting experiments, including data collection, organization, and analysis. It explains the formulation of hypotheses, the role of variables, and the use of tables and graphs to represent data visually. Additionally, it describes different types of graphs and their applications in displaying and comparing data.

Uploaded by

Ma Maudie Arah O Garcia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Module 1: Experimenting

Planning and Conducting an Experiment


What is an experiment? It is an activity which is carefully planned, designed and executed in
order to find out if a hypothesis is wright or wrong.
Suppose your parents are farmers in a coastal town. The problem of your family is that salt
water sips into the soil in your farm; this phenomenon is called salt water intrusion.
Suppose your parents learned of a variety of which can tolerate salty water. Should your
parents buy the seeds (rice grains) right away? Or should you first find out how well that rice
variety tolerates salt water? Suppose your parents choose the second option, and they ask you
to help them. What would you do? Study the design of the experiment below and see if it will
serve your purpose?

Module 2: Collecting, Organizing and Analyzing Data


Collecting of Data
Data collection is the systematic process by which observations of measurements are
gathered in research. It is used in many different contexts by academics, governments,
businesses and other organizations.
Depending on the researcher’s research plan, and design, there are several ways data can be
collected. The most commonly used methods are published literature sources, surveys,
interviews, observations, documents and records and experiments.

Organizing Data
Data organization is the practice of categorizing and classifying data to make it more usable.
Similar to a file folder, where we keep important documents, you need to arrange your data in
the most logical and orderly fashion, so you and anyone else who accesses it can easily find what
they are looking for.
The simplest way of organizing data is to present them in a table called the data table. It has a
meaningful title, labels and units. Scientist also use graphs which are visual representations of
data or information collected during the experiment. Graphs and data table make patterns and
trends about the data.

Data Interpretation
Data interpretation is the process of reviewing data through some predefined processes which
will help assign some meaning to the data and arrived at a relevant conclusion. It involves taking
the result of data analysis, making inferences on the relation studied and using them to
conclude. Therefore, before one can talk about interpreting data, they need to be analyzed first.
Data analysis is the process of ordering, categorizing, manipulating and summarizing data to
obtain answers to research questions. It is usually the first step taken towards data
interpretation.

Module 3: Formulating Hypothesis


What is a Hypothesis?
A hypothesis states your prediction about what your research will find. It is a tentative or
temporary answer to your research question that has not yet been tested. A hypothesis is not
just a guess-it should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It is also based from what
you observed from the past, experienced and on facts. Hypothesis also has to be testable, which
means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods (such as experiments,
observations and statistical analysis of data). Hypothesis is written in declarative form.

Variables in Hypothesis
Hypotheses propose relationship between two or more variables. An independent variable is
something the researcher changes or controls. A dependent variable is something the researcher
observes and measures.
For example:
Daily apple consumption leads to fewer doctor’s visit.
In this example, the independent variable is apple consumption-the assumed caused. The
dependent variable
Is the frequency of doctor’s visits- the assumed effect.

Developing a Hypothesis
1. Ask a question
Writing a hypothesis begins with a research question that you want to answer. The
question should be focused, specific and researchable within the constraints of your project.
For example: Do students who attend more lectures get better exam results?

2. Do some preliminary research


Your initial answer to the problem should be based on what is already known about the
topic. Look for theories or previous studies to help you form educated assumption about what
your research will find. At this stage, you might construct a conceptual framework to identify
which variables you will study and what you think the relationship are between them.

3. Formulate your hypothesis


Now you should have some idea of what you expect to find. Wite your initial answer to the
question in clear, concise sentence.
For example: Attending more lectures lead to better exam results.

4. Refine your hypothesis


you need to make sure your hypothesis is specific and testable. There are various ways of
phrasing a hypothesis, but all of the terms you use should be clear definitions, and the
hypothesis should contain:
The relevant variables
The specific group being studied
The predicted outcome of the experimenter analysis

5. Phrase your hypothesis in three ways:


1. Cause and effect – if the cause is true then the effect of it occur
To identify the variables, you can write a simple predictionin if ...then form. The first
part of the sentence states the independent variable and the second part states the dependent
variable
For example: If a grade seven student starts attending more lectures, then their exam scores will
improve.
2. Alternative hypothesis- it is always an affirmative form
For example: The number of lectures attended by grade seven students has a positive effect on
their final exam scores
3. Null hypothesis – always stated in in a negative form
If your research involves statistical testing, you will also have to write in a null
hypothesis. The null hypothesis is the default position between the variables.
For example: the number of lectures attended by grade seven students has no effect on their
final exam scores.

Module 4: Organizing Data


What are table and graphs? Tables and graphs are visual representation . they are used to
organize information to show patterns and relationships. A graph shows this information by
representing it as a shape and using visuals. It is diagram showing the relation between variable
quantities, typically of two variables. The three main types of graphs are line graphs, pie graphs
and bar graphs.
Line graphs illustrate how related data changes over a specific period of time. Each line
graph consist of points that connect data to show a trend(continuous change). Line graphs have
an x-axis and y-axis. On most of cases, time is distributed on the horizontal axis.
When it comes to statistical types of graphs and charts, the pie chart(or the circle chart)
has a crucial place and meaning. It displays data and stastistics in an easy -to- understand “pie
slice” format and illustrates numerical proportion. Each pie slice is relative to the size of a
particular category in a given group as a whole. To say it another way, the pie chart brake down a
group into smaller pieces. It show part-whole relationships. The total value of a pie chart is
always 100%. Each portion in the circle shows a fraction or percentage of the total.
Pie Chart Uses
➢ When you want to create and represent the composition of something
➢ It is very useful for displaying nominal or ordinal categories of data
➢ When comparing areas of growth within a business such as profit
➢ Work best for displaying data for 3 to 7 categories.
Pie chart is a circular graph which is used to represent data. In this:
➢ Various observation of the data are represented by the sectors of the circle.
➢ The total angle formed at the centre 360
➢ The whole circle represents the sum of the values of all the components

𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡 x 360ᶹ


➢ The angle at the centrecorresponding to the particular observation components is given by

Total value
➢ If the values observation /components are expressed in percentage, then the centre angle
corresponding to particular observation/component is given by
Percentage value of component x 360ᶹ
100
Example:
The following table shows the number of hours spent by a child on different events on a working
day. Represent the adjoining information on a pie chart

Bar charts represent categorical data with rectangular bars to understand what is
categorical data. Bar graphs are among the most popular types of graphs and charts in
economics, statistics, marketing and visualization in digital customer experience. They are used
to compare several categories of data.
Each rectangular bar has length height proportional to the values that they represent.
Bar Chart Uses
➢ When you want to display data that are grouped into nominal or ordinal categories
➢ To compare data among different categories
➢ Bar charts can also show large data charges over time
➢ For visualizing the distribution of data when we have more than three categories
Example:
A seventh grade class recorded their favorite after school activities in a table.

Steps in the Construction of a Bar Graph Note: Look at figure 3


1. Decide on a title for your graph (Ex: Seventh Grader’s Favorite Activities)
2. Draw the horizontal and vertical axes.
3. Label the horizontal axis (Favorite Activity)
4. Write the favorite activities where the bars will be (watching tv, sports exercising and so on)
5. Label the vertical lines ( Number of students)
6. Decide on the scale (0,1,2,3, and so on ) or (0, 2,4,6 and so on)

Tables communicate information using exact numbers. It typically shows data in columns
and rows, or possibly in more complex structures. Tables are organizer for an investigation, a way
of presenting data in a report and an organiser to assist comprehension and thinking.
In graphs and tables components that are being compared or measured are called
variables. For example if the question is, How does shadow lenght vary during a day? the lenght
of the shadow is one variable and the time is the other.It is often useful to describe variables as
either independent or dependent variable. In tables, the independent variable go in the left hand
columns, the dependent variables on the right. In graphs, the data for the x- axis must be the
independent variable, while the yaxis for the dependent variable. In figure 3, the independent
variable variable is the favorite activity while the dependent variable is the number of students.

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