Students begin their statistical explorations with data collection. They answer several survey questions, take some measurements, or do both. This data gathering activity gives students firsthand experience in gathering and organizing data. It then prompts students to notice different types of data that could be collected. The activity also provides the class with authentic data that can later be analyzed as students gain and expand the skills to do so. 

The Task Statement shows a range of survey questions and ideas for collecting measurements. To optimize the data gathering, have several survey questions and measuring activities identified ahead of time, and consider how to best collect the responses or measurements.

Tell students to put their responses to the selected questions in the appropriate place in the room. Allow them to do a gallery walk of the data sets and to discuss with their group things they notice about each question.

Direct students' attention to the reference created using Collect and Display. Ask students to share what they noticed about the different kinds of data the questions produced. Invite students to borrow language from the display as needed, and update the reference to include additional phrases as they respond. (For example, “Some of the questions required numerical answers and others were choices from a list of categories.”)

Students are likely to notice that responses to some questions are numbers and others are not. If it does not come up, point out the questions that have numerical data in their responses and ask students what these questions have in common.

Explain that responses that are measurements or quantities are called numerical data. For example, the first question about the travel time to school produces numerical data because the responses are quantities, measured in minutes.

Point out that responses to other questions are not quantities but can be sorted into categories. Explain that these types of responses are called categorical data. For example, the second question about ways of traveling to school produces categorical data because the responses can be sorted into categories.

Explain that numerical and categorical data will continue to be investigated in upcoming lessons.

The data from the first three questions regarding travel time, travel method, and height will be used in future lessons. Collect this data in an organized way to redistribute and use with students later.

In the previous activity, students responded to survey questions and collected data. They learned that data can be categorical or numerical. In this activity, students practice distinguishing categorical and numerical data, using the same survey questions and additional ones. They think about the kind of responses these questions would yield. For numerical responses, they consider the units of measurement. For categorical responses, they identify the characteristic being studied. 

Note that some data may have numbers for their values but are categorical rather than numerical. Area codes and zip codes are examples of such categorical data. They are not ordered quantities or measurements, but rather labels that happen to be numbers. We can meaningfully compare quantities or measurements (for example, 6 minutes is greater than 4 minutes, or 7 years is less than 12 years), but we cannot do the same with the numbers in area codes or zip codes. It would not make sense to say, for example, that the zip code is 19104 is less than 63105.

As students work and discuss, notice students who could succinctly articulate the variables being investigated in both numerical and categorical questions. Also notice any disagreements that partners might have about whether a question results in numerical or categorical data. The questions about rating important issues and hours spent on activities are likely to generate conversations as they may appear less straightforward than the others.

The purpose of the discussion is for students to be able to identify data collected as either numerical or categorical.

Select a few previously identified students to share their responses to the first two questions. After each student shares, ask the rest of the class if they agree or disagree, and discuss any disagreements.

Direct students' attention to the reference created using Collect and Display. Ask students to share whether each word applies to the idea of numerical data, categorical data, neither, or both. Then ask students to share their reasoning for how they classified the questions. Invite students to borrow language from the display as needed, and update the reference to include additional phrases as they respond. (For example, “Where I was born is categorical because it does not use ordered numbers in the response.”)