What’s data got to do with your exams?

A lot, actually. Because data is all around us and it requires us to think and make judgement calls about meaning. When I say data, I really mean, “bits of information”. With these bits of information, there’s thinking on many levels. Such as:

• Understanding what the individual parts together are telling us.
• Deciding which parts are important, what parts aren’t.
• Making decisions as to conclusions that are reasonable from what’s important.

Importantly, understanding data can help you solve problems. You’re soon about to sit an exam, right? This exam may have questions around data, but the fact that you’re sitting an exam is going to generate data – for who? For your assessors, who are going to be making a big decision as to who is going to get an offer.

Many people think that to get an offer, you just need a passing score e.g., get 8/10 and you’re in. Similar to how your teacher might score a spelling test at school. But, when it comes to an exam with hundreds or thousands of people, looking at the data to make a selection isn’t just a pass mark or an average of all marks.

What happens if everyone gets 8/10? How about if most people get 5/10 and no one gets 8/10?

What happens then? This is where understanding data is important (and why it’s being tested – the maths is quite simple but it’s the thinking that’s important).

So, let’s look at some data – what kind of thinking is involved? And what kind of conclusions can be made? (Watch video for detailed explanations).

Modified source: "1471-2148-10-330-5" by phylofigures is licensed with CC BY 2.0

Can you see here that data is a really big area in ‘thinking skills’ – with the ‘wrong’ thinking, you could end up making decisions that are not ideal and in the worst situations, disastrous.

Now that we have had a taste of looking at data, let’s get into the nitty gritty on how to think when you’ve got data.

What kind of data questions are you likely to get?

The first consideration is how can data analysis questions appear in your exam?

In many ways and many forms.

The common forms are in:

• Tables
• Charts and graphs

They can also appear in paragraphs in short text form. And in reading comprehension questions.

This checkpoint focuses on how you can think about data in general and you’ll be looking into specific types of presentation of data in later checkpoints.

How to answer data questions?

In general, to answer data questions effectively, you need to:

1. Understand what the question is asking you to find.
2. Orientate yourself with the presentation of the data – what is being presented here? Title, axes, legend.
   
3. Once you have the bigger picture, you’ll “zoom” in on what you need.

It’s kind of like find an address on a map (well, you probably have your phone to tell you or a satellite navigation system to tell you nowadays), but the satellite navigation system actually does a similar thing. You input the suburb, then the street, and then the number. This ‘zooming’ in is a sensible process because you consider the wider view first (in case you miss anything) and then “zoom” in.

Let’s see it in action now with a worked example.

Example Question/s

Watch video for explanation of the following question/s:

Referring to the below image. A blue line represents a river and the light blue shaded area with the black boundary shows various areas in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin. Which of the following statements is true?

Source: Data.gov is licensed with CC BY 3.0 AU

A. Irrigated land use only occurs in close proximity to rivers.
B. There must be underground waters sources where there is irrigated land.
C. Selected storages can be found in each of the areas of the Southern Murray-Darling Basin.
D. Irrigated land use is largely clustered in some areas.

Key Rules to remember

• Look at the requirement to focus.
• Understand the context and background – know how the data is being framed.
• Start at the high level and close in on what you need.

Practice time!

Now, it's your turn to practice.

Here’s a thought experiment #11.

Remember, there is no formal answer and this experiment is provided to help stimulate your creativity and critical thinking (a ‘thought experiment’ is provided at the end of every checkpoint except checkpoint 18).

Thought experiment 11:

Of two twin brothers, one undertakes a long space journey while the other remains on Earth. When the traveller finally returns to Earth, it is observed that he is younger than the twin who stayed put. What do you think happened?

Take your time to work through this thought experiment as it is not assessed and provided to help develop your deeper thinking skills. Think about various components of the question. What questions will you ask yourself and how do you answer your questions?

Now, let’s turn to the checkpoint questions.

Click on the button below and start your practice questions. We recommend doing untimed mode first, and then, when you're ready, do timed mode.

Every question has two solutions videos after you complete the question. The first is a quick 60 second video that shows you how our expert answers the question quickly. The second video is a more in-depth 5-steps or less explainer video that shows you the steps to take to answer the question. It's really important that you review the second video because that's where you'll learn additional tips and tricks.

Once you're done with the practice questions, move on to the next checkpoint.

Now, let’s get started on your practice questions.

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