Lesson 12: Conducting a Survey

Lesson 12: Conducting a Survey

Objectives:

Students will:

Identify the types of information gathering styles and different surveying styles.
Develop their own survey, implement it, evaluate the data they collect and identify where biases might have occurred

Core Learning Goals:

Mathematics: Goal 3 - Data Analysis and Probability: The student will demonstrate the ability to apply probability and statistical methods for representing and interpreting data and communicating results, using technology when needed.

Expectation 3.1 : The student will collect, organize, analyze, and present data.

Indicator: 3.1.1 : The student will design and/or conduct an investigation that uses statistical methods to analyze data and communicate results.

Materials/Resources:

Background:

Surveys are used in many fields to gather data on the knowledge, attitude and behavior of the general public or specific populations. This information is used to design political campaigns, create marketing strategies, plan for public services and many other purposes. Planning offices may use surveys to determine public attitudes and preferences about growth options, or to assess the use of different public services, such as roads or playgrounds. Through this lesson, students will gain experience in gathering data used for decision-making, as well as the ability to more critically assess conclusions based on survey data.

Activity 1: Introduction to Surveys and Sampling

Teachers should introduce students to the basic concepts of sampling and surveying and familiarize students with statistical terms. The teacher may use the provided handouts, or develop their own lesson. Allow students to research the information individually or in teams and report back to the class.

Activity 2: Designing a Survey

Using the basic concepts of sampling and surveying, create a survey about transportation within your school. Before designing the survey you may wish to:

Interview the principal or whoever is in charge of transportation issues within your school to find out about transportation issues at the school
Have a Central Office staff person come to your class to give an overview of local school system transportation issues.
Optional: Have a County Planner come to your class to discuss county transportation issues.

Activity 3: Distributing a Survey

Survey 1: Mass Survey

Distribute a survey around your school to determine the different forms of transportation used to get to your school.

Divide the students into groups.
Review the Survey Score Sheet with the students, or have students develop their own Score Sheet for grading their survey.
Ask each group to make a list of questions that determine what kind of transportation is used by students, including distances and destinations.
You may want to have all groups include common questions to allow for analysis of sub-samples
Ask each group to peer review the questions by other groups, looking for leading questions and bias.
After reviewing the survey questions, allow students to design a method to distribute the surveys to a portion of the student body. Some options might include distribution to all students that have class with a particular teacher, or in a certain grade.
After the surveys are distributed and collected back have students analyze their findings and produce a final report. A final report might include graphs and tables of data, sample surveys, explanation of data, areas of possible error.

Sample Questions for a Survey:

How did you get to school today?
How will you go home?
Have you made any transportation choices based on their environmental impact?
How long does it take you to get to school?
Do you have a choice in how you travel?
How far do you travel in an average day to get to school?
Would you take public transportation if it was available? Why or why not?

Sample questions that might be answered in a final report:

How was your survey distributed?
Who received the survey? Was this a random sample or biased sample?
How did you measure responses?
Do students at your school think environmentally?
Is your community designed for easy transportation to schools?
Is there a good public transportation system in your community? If not,
how could you make it better?
Do you think your survey could be applied to a larger population?

Compare similar questions and groups and analyze for bias

Survey 2: In-person Survey (Interview)

Talk to three or more people representing three different generations and compare their attitudes about their community.

Teachers may either have students compile a list of questions or provide a list of questions that every student will use when talking to the three respondents.

Sample Questions:

Where do you live?
How long have you lived there?
What changes in the area have you seen?
What are the positive and negative aspects of these changes?
Why do you live where you live?
What do you like and dislike about living in your area?
What future changes would you find beneficial in your area?

Think about:

How will you prevent bias?
What effect does a small sample have?
Will combining data cause a bias?
Does your data show a difference among generations?

Taking Action:

Identify key issues raised by your transportation survey. Share the results with the school principal. If appropriate, send your findings to a local decision-maker (e.g., county planner, director, elected official, school board) with a letter explaining your results. What problems have been identified? What action(s) can be taken at your school to address the problem(s)? Continue with issues-based investigation.

Possible final products:

Students write a final analysis of the data.
Groups pool data and analyze. Groups report out.

Contents | Conducting a Survey | Student Handout: Background on Surveys

Student Handout: Survey Score Sheet

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