Data Analysis Ideas from the Real World

Below are several ideas and sources for real world data which could be analyzed and/or graphed using spreadsheets. Encourage your students to look for additional sources of data to analyze; ask them to bring examples to class.

• Estimations - then make actual calculations and/or graph;
• Make predictions based on initial data gathered;
• Statistical surveys from any subject area;
• Metric (or English) measurements of the body, objects of various sizes, perimeters, areas;
• Equations, functions, relations; and
• Time needed to accomplish various tasks.

• Sizes of the planets, density, distance from Earth, atmospheric composition;
• Temperature, humidity, rainfall over time, overcast-amount of sun-visibility;
• Growth of plant or animal under different experimental conditions;
• Distance, velocity, acceleration;
• Falling objects, gravity, wind resistance; and
• Animal population, growth and decline rates.

• Vitamins, minerals, or other composition comparisons;
• Calories versus weight for various foods;
• Fast food nutritional, saturated versus unsaturated fats; and
• Heart rate over time, varying according to activity.

• Size comparison for cities, states, or countries or their growth rates;
• Size composition (farm land, mountains, lakes, etc.);
• Population composition (cities, rural areas, small towns, etc.) or (percent literate versus decade) or ethnic backgrounds;
• Economic growth (crops or mining or shipping or roads, (industrial, farming, services);
• Buying power or cost of living comparisons versus different areas
• Projected growth rates.

• Number frequency in ciphering codes; and
• Number of books read by different classes/students.

• Scores versus time of specific track and field events; and
• Number of push-ups, sit-ups, etc. one can do on a sequence of days.

Sample Activities to Introduce Spreadsheets to Students

Examples:

1. Personal Data: Students design a questionnaire with about 15 or so questions about their classmates which would have numeric answers. Discuss which type questions would be appropriate. Review and edit the questionnaire, prepare it for distribution, and then have students administer the questionnaire. Students prepare a spreadsheet with appropriate headings and enter the data. Finally, when the data has been collected, entered, and analyzed, discuss the results with the group and ask questions which can be answered from the data, such as "What is the average number of hours students watch TV in a week?" Be sure to include questions from all levels, i.e. from basic questions requiring nothing more than reading a correct answer from the spreadsheet to higher level questions requiring thought, interpretation, and reasoning.
2. Class Party Shopping Comparisons: Develop a shopping list for a class party consisting of about 20 items. Include the brand name and size of items. Have students go to local stores and collect prices of the items. Set up a spreadsheet to analyze the results, and decide which store has the best prices. You could follow up by actually having the party!
3. Cheapest way to go on a trip: Students would collect information from a variety of sources on a variety of things: airlines, bus routes, rental cars, hotels, camp grounds, restaurants, etc. Start by discussing the options for travel, accommodation, meals, etc.