Learning Goals
- Identify the observational units in data needed to answer a statistical question.
- Identify qualities of a good statistical question.
- Identify variables used to answer a statistical question.
In the next activity, you will need to understand the qualities exhibited by a good statistical question, and you will need to have an understanding of observational units and variables so that you can think about whether a given dataset is appropriate to answer a statistical question.
At its heart, statistics is an investigative process that can allow us to answer questions about our world. In the upcoming activity, we’re going to be considering what makes a good statistical question and how we can match appropriate data with those statistical questions. Prepare for that activity by completing this page to build your understanding of the observational units and variables present in the data used to answer statistical questions.
The Qualities of Statistical Questions
You’ve probably heard people complain about drivers from various areas of the country. In a moment, you’ll consider the question, “Which U.S. state has the worst drivers?” as a statistical question. Before you begin to tackle that question, first refresh what you learned about statistical investigative questions in the What to Know [1C] by reading the example below. Then, extend that knowledge by working through the questions on this page to prepare for the upcoming activity.
example
In What to Know [1C], you learned that a statistical investigative question is one that can be used as the starting point for an investigation. To answer the question, data will need to be collected and analyzed using statistical tools and the results of that analysis interpreted. You understood that the first quality of a statistical question is that it doesn’t have an exact answer.
Which of the following questions satisfies the definition of a statistical investigative question?
- Which country (or countries) had the highest maximum speed limit for any of its roadways in 2020?
- Which country has the best drivers?
You learned previously that statistical questions always anticipate variability, and could lead to data collection and analysis. Let’s extend that understanding now by looking at some further qualities a question will have if it is a good statistical question.
Question 1
A good statistical question will exhibit many and possibly all of the following qualities:
- The question is relevant and interesting.
- The question deals with some natural variation in the world; in other words, the question anticipates variability.
- The question asks us to generalize or find a general tendency among many individuals.
- The question is one that we need data in order to answer.
- The question does not have an exact and precise answer that is easy to find; there is some analysis that must be done to answer the question, or the question may be answered in multiple ways.
- There can be multiple factors that affect the answer to the question.
Which of the above qualities do you find present in the question, “Which U.S. state has the worst drivers?”
