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Mathematics and Statistics Skills

Drawing conclusions from numerical data

  • 3 things to know
  • All three papers

Overview

What a conclusion is and the figures it needs, describing against concluding, anomalies, using averages, comparing means alongside sample sizes, stating confidence, mistaking a link for a cause, summing up a trend and returning to the original question.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What makes a sound conclusion from numerical data, and how does concluding differ from describing or over-claiming?

Key term

What is a conclusion in a piece of data analysis?

Key term

What must every conclusion be backed up with?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is a conclusion in a piece of data analysis?

    Model answer

    A statement of what the figures show in answer to the question that was asked, supported by the results themselves.

  2. 2

    What must every conclusion be backed up with?

    Model answer

    Specific figures taken from the results, quoted with their units, rather than a general impression of them.

  3. 3

    What is the difference between describing figures and concluding from them?

    Model answer

    Describing says what the numbers do, while a conclusion says what that means for the question being investigated.

  4. 4

    What should be said about a reading that does not fit the pattern?

    Model answer

    It should be named as an anomaly, located, and given a possible explanation, rather than quietly ignored.

  5. 5

    How does working out an average help in reaching a conclusion?

    Model answer

    It reduces a set of readings to one typical value, so different sites or different dates can be compared fairly.

  6. 6

    Why is it worth saying how confident you are in a conclusion?

    Model answer

    Because a small sample or a short run of records makes the conclusion less certain, and saying so is more honest than stating it flatly.

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