Guidelines when using Statistics in Science and Technology Fair projects
Statistics New Zealand is the country's national statistical agency and the major source
of official statistics. Statistics New Zealand looks for best practice and innovation in its
own work and is delighted to support the work of young New Zealanders who seek to do
the same through their participation in "Realise the Dream".
Below is a guide to assist students and teachers in working through the process of
applying statistical skills to their investigations. It closely follows the Statistical Enquiry
Cycle. This list may be useful as a guide for students preparing for Regional Science
and Technology Fairs.
Activity in a project with these features is likely to fit well with:
 The Statistics strand in the Mathematics and Statistics learning area of The New
Zealand Curriculum (2007).
 The Understanding, Investigating, Communicating, Participating and Contributing
parts of the Science learning area of The New Zealand Curriculum (2007).
 Investigations in Technology, Social Sciences and other learning areas of The
New Zealand Curriculum (2007)
Students will need to work though some or all of the following actions:
Problem

State the purpose of their investigation.

Pose questions suitable for a scientific investigation.

Define the variables that come from the experiment or survey.
Plan

Data




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Design an experiment or a survey that fits this purpose. The design should aim
to be representative and to avoid bias. Issues such as replication and
randomisation in experiments, and having a sufficient sample size, should be
addressed. An existing administrative, experimental or survey dataset may be
used as a source of data. The dataset may be recent or historical. Some
suitable datasets can be found at:
www.stats.govt.nz , www.censusatschool.org.nz or elsewhere.
Locate and use external sources of information that support the investigation.
Define the variables that come from this experiment or survey.
Carry out the experiment or survey.
Record notable features of the process.
Edit, clean and assemble the dataset.
Analyse

Explore the dataset, to find and where possible explain variability: relationships
and patterns, trends, and departures from these.

Use appropriate graphical or other statistical procedures to explore the dataset.
(Students should show understanding of the advantages and limitations of the
analysis methods that they choose).

Relate their findings to established scientific ideas.
Conclude

Report the results of the investigation as prescribed in the 'Realise the Dream'
requirements.

Use graphs to reveal the variability (patterns and departures from patterns) in
their data.

Use words, numbers and graphs working together to communicate the findings
from their data.

Discuss the value of the investigation in its context.

State conclusions that are related to the purpose for the investigation. The
conclusions should identify any aspects of the investigation that could be
improved and any additional aspects of the problem which need to be
investigated.