Example 1

Spirit Week is approaching, and the student council wants more students to participate in the festivities by dressing up. Student council members plan to collect data on the most popular dressup themes for the days of Spirit Week by asking other students what their favorite themes are. Since the student council doesn’t have much time or funding, members will not be able to talk to every student. What method of data gathering will most closely match what the student council is trying to accomplish?
  1. Consider the methods of data collection described in this lesson.
  2. Recall the distinguishing characteristics of each method.
  3. Evaluate the situation described in the problem scenario to determine the purpose and characteristics of the required data.
  4. Determine which method of data collection best matches the situation.
This applet is provided by Walch Education as supplemental material for their mathematics programs. Visit www.walch.com for more information.