Session 1: From the data to the report
Summary
The contents and objectives of the B2 module are summarised.
Three examples are used to summarise the steps followed in a statistical study once the
data have been collected. Here the examples used are:
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a small study, using climatic data from one station in Zambia
a medium size study, using the measurement of crop area in Swaziland
a large study, the agricultural sample census in Tanzania.
Learning objectives
At the end of this session students will be able to:
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Specify the contents of the module
Explain the steps followed in a study, once the data are available
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Appreciate that the data analysis is just one of the important stages
Make initial suggestions on how to streamline the steps, so results are of high
quality and are available as soon as possible
Resources
Case study materials:
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The climatic data in Zambia
The crop-cutting survey in Swaziland (areas only)
The agriculture sample census in Tanzania
Related sessions
Many sessions use these or other case studies. Later sessions in this Module will consider
tables for the analysis. The last 3 sessions will look at the reports.
Practical
Activity 3-5: Explore and evaluate 3 projects.
Activities
Activity 1: Description of the Module. Watch slides 1 to 6 of the PowerPoint
presentation “Handling Data”.
Activity 2: Description of the session. Watch slides 7 & 8 of the PowerPoint presentation
“Handling Data”.
Activity 3: The Zambia Study. Watch slides 9 and 10 of the PowerPoint presentation.
Run the demonstration and complete the relevant part of the practical.
Activity 4: The Swaziland Study. Continue with the PowerPoint presentation, watch
slides 11. Read the Swaziland crop cutting PowerPoint handout and complete the relevant
part of the practical.
Activity 5: The Tanzania Study. Watch slides 13 and 14 of the PowerPoint presentation.
Then go through the document from the Tanzania Agricultural survey report and complete
the relevant part of the practical.
Activity 6: Class discussion. Referring to your completed tables:
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review the steps of each study and consider their similar structure
review the different methods that can be used in each step
discuss factors which you think contribute to completing the steps well (e.g. enter
and check the data – as soon as possible after they are collected)