Lesson 3: Asking Questions of Real Data

About 30 minutes — Activity-based lesson

What You Will Learn

This lesson covers:

Turning curiosity into data questions
Finding answers: which columns and calculations to use
When the data does not have the answer you need
Activity: ask and answer 5 questions about a real-world dataset

Turning curiosity into data questions

This section covers the key ideas about turning curiosity into data questions. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

Finding answers: which columns and calculations to use

This section covers the key ideas about finding answers: which columns and calculations to use. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

When the data does not have the answer you need

This section covers the key ideas about when the data does not have the answer you need. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

Activity: ask and answer 5 questions about a real-world dataset

This section covers the key ideas about activity: ask and answer 5 questions about a real-world dataset. Discuss with your group or family and explore the concepts together.

Check Your Understanding

1. How do you ask a question of a dataset?

Answer: Start with curiosity, then check: does this dataset have the information I need to answer my question? If yes, figure out which columns to look at and what calculations to do.

2. What if the dataset does not answer your question?

Answer: You might need a different dataset, or you might need to collect additional data. Not every question can be answered by every dataset.

3. What types of questions work well with real data?

Answer: 'What is the highest/lowest?' 'What is the average?' 'Is there a trend over time?' 'How do two groups compare?' These are all answerable with data.

4. How do you know if your answer is correct?

Answer: Check your calculations, verify against the source, and see if the answer makes sense. If the average temperature in July seems to be -10°F, something is wrong.

Key Takeaways

Turning curiosity into data questions
Finding answers: which columns and calculations to use
When the data does not have the answer you need
Activity: ask and answer 5 questions about a real-world dataset

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