Purpose
This activity investigates whether a claim made in the press about the IQs of people who use Internet
Explore are less than the IQs of other browsers. This claim was eventually exposed as a hoax, but the
claim is used in this activity to prompt an investigation into whether the claim is true in our school.
The following links provide details of the claim and its exposure as a hoax.
http://media.cbronline.com/news/people-with-higher-iq-are-shunning-internet-explorer-study-010811
ANATOMY OF A HOAX
By Thomas Lumley
Last week, many newspaper websites (though apparently not any Kiwi ones) reported a study
purporting to that users of Internet Explorer had lower IQs than users of other browsers, with IE
version 6 users scoring 20 points lower than Firefox users, and more than 40 points lower than users
of Opera. The results were supposed to be based on a survey of 100,000 people recruited through
ads on websites. This turns out not to be the case.
This quotation comes from http://www.statschat.org.nz/category/surveys/ or more specifically
http://www.statschat.org.nz/2011/08/07/anatomy-of-a-hoax/
Achievement objective S8-3
In a range of meaningful contexts, students will be engaged in thinking mathematically and statistically.
They will solve problems and model situations that require them to:
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Evaluate a wide range of statistically based reports, including surveys and polls, experiments, and
observational studies:
o A. critiquing causal-relationship claims
o B. interpreting margins of error.
Indicators
A. Critiquing causal-relationship claims:
Identifies the type of study, that is, survey, poll, experiment, or observational study.
Draws on understandings of statistical investigations and how the different types of studies are
conducted, uses critical questions to evaluate the study, makes a judgment about the claim and justifies
it.
B. Interpreting margins of error:
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Specific learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
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Critcally evaluate a claim
Design an investigation to investigate a claim
Make an inference from an investigation
Diagnostic snapshot(s)
Students discuss the claim reported by Thomas Lumley in groups
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Do they think it true?
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How might the data have been collected to make the hoax?
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How was the claim refuted?
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Do they think the claim might be true in their school?
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How might they investigate whether the claim is true in their school?
Planned learning experiences
Part 1:
Student work in pairs and are each given the data card set (IE IQ score v non IE IQ score). This provides
the fictitious results of an investigation of this claim amongst Year 13 Students at St Jeanette’s School.
Calculate the mean score IQ scores for the IE group and the non IQ group
Discuss whether these two means confirm of refute the claim.
Calculate the difference between the means.
Use randomised resampling with replacement to calculate another difference of the two means
Repeat this process in pairs until a set of 100 “differences between the means” have been calculated by
the class.
Display these observations in a dot plot.
Use this set of observations to refute or confirm the claim
Part 2:
Students work as a class to design an investigation of the claim amongst the Year 13 students of their
school.
Identify 20 IE users and 20 non IE users.
All members of this sample are asked to use this website to provide an IQ rating.
http://www.iqtest.com/
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Place the data into a spreadsheet with one column recording IE/non IE data and the second the IQ rating
for each student.
Use appropriate software (eg Fathom, iNZight, GenStat) for randomised resampling with replacement to
investigate the claim.
Possible adaptations to the activity:
Newspapers, blogs and magazines often provide reports on similar claims and claims that fit the context
of the school and students can be used instead of the claim about browser use and IQ.
One good source of links to such claims is http://www.statschat.org.nz
Cross curricular links
Discussion with teachers of other subjects can provide opportuntities to link current reports to
studies in other subjects
Extension/enrichment ideas
An investigation into the history of bootstrapping can use Wikipedia as a starting point.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping
Planned assessment
This teaching and learning activity could lead towards assessment in the following achievement
standard:
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3.8 Conduct an experiment using experimental design principles
3.11 Use statistical methods to make a comparison
3.12 Critically evaluate statistically based reports
Spotlight on
Pedagogy
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Planning for effective learning
Creating an inclusive learning environment
Facilitating shared learning
Making connections to prior learning and experience
Key competencies
Thinking
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Students hypothesise, investigate, analyse and evaluate.
Students design investigations, explore and use patterns and relationships in data and they predict and envision
outcomes.
Students ask questions, want to know ‘why’, make connections and discern if answers are reasonable.
Students deal with uncertainty and variation, they seek patterns and generalisations.
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Relating to others
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Students work in groups, they debate solutions, negotiate meaning and communicate thinking.
Students work collaboratively and cooperatively, taking on a range of roles. They think, share
ideas in pairs, and share ideas in groups of four.
Values
Students will be encouraged to value:
innovation, inquiry, and curiosity, by thinking critically, creatively, and reflectively
Planning for content and language learning
Use the glossary for mathematics and statistics.
http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz/Mathematics-and-statistics/Glossary
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