Handling data is one of the most important topics which is used by lots of subjects in school and is used widely outside school. Mainly it involves the collection, processing, representing and analysis of information (data).

Data Collection

There are a number of ways of collecting data

QUESTIONNAIRE A series of questions based on a specific theme.

OBSERVATION SURVEY e.g. How many vehicles pass the school. The participants are unaware that they are taking part in a survey.

EXPERIMENT Data recorded following an experiment in, for example, science.

Having collected the data it may well need to be sorted, which could be by way of a frequency table, sometimes known as a tally chart. A frequency table sorts raw data to make it easier to display the information.

Types of data

DISCRETE DATA is data which is counted
e.g. the number of cars in the car park.

CONTINUOUS DATA is measured
e.g. the heights of children.

It is important to decide on the type of data as it affects the way in which the data will be displayed.