Analysing & Interpreting Data
Analysis
- Once data has been collected and presented it needs to be analysed
- Analysis is the process which makes sense of the data collected
- It identifies patterns, trends, significance, connections and/or meaning in the data
- The analysis involves a number of stages
- Describe the data shown in the graphs/photographs/maps
- Identification of the highest and lowest results
- Identification of any patterns and trends
- Identification of any relationships between data
- Methods of analysis depend upon the data collected
- Quantitative data is analysed using numerical and statistical methods
Numerical and Statistical Skills
- Statistical methods can be used to help explore and explain the results gathered during data collection
Mean, Median and Mode
- These are measures of central tendency
- The mean is calculated by adding up all of the values in the data set and then dividing by the total number of values in the data set
- The median is the middle value of a set of data. The numbers are arranged in rank order and then the middle value selected
- The mode is the value which occurs most frequently in a set of data
Range
- A measure of dispersion - the spread of data around the average
- The range is the distance between the highest and lowest value
- Interquartile range is the part of the range that covers the middle 50% of the data
Anomalies
- These are results which do not fit the pattern or trend
- They need to be described and explained
Analysing Photographs and Field Sketches
- Annotation of photographs and field sketches is part of the analysis
- The use of photographs and field sketches is a qualitative analysis
- Analysis in annotation gives meaning to the features shown in the photograph/field sketch
