ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD
ASSIGNMENT NO 1
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Assignment no: 01
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Course Code: 8614
Assignment1
Q.1 Scientific method is a systematic way to identify and solve
problems. Discuss.
How can you solve problems using the scientific method?
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Identify the problem
Research the problem
Formulate a hypothesis
Here’s what else to consider
The scientific method is a process of systematic inquiry that helps you test
hypotheses, analyze data, and draw conclusions. It can also help you solve problems
in various domains, such as business, education, or personal life. In this article, you
will learn how to apply the scientific method to any problem you face and improve
your decision-making skills.
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1Identify the problem
The first step of the scientific method is to define the problem you want to solve.
You need to be as specific and clear as possible about what the problem is, why it
matters, and what your desired outcome is. For example, if you are running a
restaurant and you want to increase customer satisfaction, you need to identify what
aspects of your service or product are causing dissatisfaction, how they affect your
revenue and reputation, and what level of satisfaction you aim to achieve.
Add your perspective
2Research the problem
The second step of the scientific method is to gather relevant information and
evidence about the problem. You need to review existing literature, data, and best
practices that can help you understand the problem better and find possible solutions.
You also need to collect your own data, such as surveys, interviews, or observations,
that can provide insights into the problem and its causes. For example, if you are
running a restaurant and you want to increase customer satisfaction, you need to
research what factors influence customer satisfaction in the food industry, what your
competitors are doing, and what your customers think and feel about your service or
product.
3Formulate a hypothesis
The third step of the scientific method is to propose a tentative explanation or
solution for the problem based on your research. For example, if you are running a
restaurant and you want to increase customer satisfaction, you might hypothesize
that offering a loyalty program will increase customer retention and referrals, and
you will use the number of loyalty cards issued, redeemed, and shared as your
variables.
Add your perspective
4Test the hypothesis
The fourth step of the scientific method is to design and conduct an experiment or a
trial that can test your hypothesis. You need to choose a suitable method and sample
that can provide reliable and valid results. You also need to control for any
confounding factors that might affect your outcome. You need to collect and record
your data carefully and objectively. For example, if you are running a restaurant and
you want to increase customer satisfaction, you might test your hypothesis by
offering a loyalty program to a random group of customers for a certain period of
time and compare their satisfaction levels and behaviors with a control group that
does not receive the loyalty program.
Add your perspective
5Analyze the data
The fifth step of the scientific method is to process and interpret your data using
appropriate statistical tools and techniques. You need to summarize your data using
descriptive statistics, such as mean, median, mode, frequency, or percentage. You
also need to test your data using inferential statistics, such as correlation, regression,
t-test, or ANOVA, to determine if your hypothesis is supported or rejected by your
data. You need to report your findings using tables, graphs, or charts that can
communicate your results clearly and accurately. For example, if you are running a
restaurant and you want to increase customer satisfaction, you might analyze your
data by calculating the average satisfaction scores, retention rates, and referral rates
of the loyalty program group and the control group, and comparing them using a t-
test to see if there is a significant difference between them.
Add your perspective
6Draw conclusions
The sixth and final step of the scientific method is to draw conclusions and
implications from your data analysis. You need to state whether your hypothesis is
confirmed or disproved by your data, and explain why and how. You also need to
discuss the limitations and strengths of your research, and suggest areas for
improvement or further investigation.
Add your perspective
7Here’s what else to consider
This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the
previous sections. What else would you like to add?
What Is the Scientific Method?
Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev, MD on April 27, 2022
Written by Cyrus Wahome
Scientific Method Steps
An Example of the Scientific Method
What the Scientific Is Method Used For
Why Is the Scientific Method Important?
The scientific method is a strategy used to try and explain natural science rationally
by obtaining and evaluating data. It involves the formulation of hypotheses and
application to come up with logical explanations. When using the scientific method,
scientists follow a set of scientific method steps.
Scientific Method Steps
The scientific method is a step-by-step problem-solving process. These steps
include:
1. Observation. This involves observing and gathering information from a
certain aspect of the natural world.
2. Asking a question. Here, you form relevant and testable questions based
on your observations.
Forming a hypothesis. This involves proposing an explanation of how or why
the natural phenomenon is happening. It can be an assumption rather than a fact.
3. Prediction. This is what you think will happen based on your hypothesis.
4. Testing the prediction. With testing, you carry out an experiment to test
how accurate your prediction is.
5. Iteration. This involves looking back on the whole process and the results
you achieved to make new hypotheses or predictions.
An Example of the Scientific Method
Observation
The observation you make from this problem is that your toaster won’t toast.
Asking a question
The question, in this case, is, “Why isn’t my toaster working?”
Forming a hypothesis
The hypothesis should be a potential explanation or answer to the question. It should
also be testable in some way and doesn’t necessarily have to be right. So in this case,
let’s say your hypothesis is that the power outlet is broken.
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Prediction
Based on your hypothesis that the outlet might be broken, you predict that if you
switch to another power outlet, your toaster will work and toast your bread.
Testing the prediction
Testing involves experimenting to see if your prediction is right. In this case, you
switch power outlets, plug in your toaster, and see if it toasts.
Iteration
Here, you reflect on your results and decide on your next step.
If the test results supported your hypothesis — your toaster worked — you may
decide to do further tests to confirm it or revise it. For example, you can decide to
do more investigation on what's wrong with the first outlet.
What the Scientific Is Method Used For
The scientific method can be used for various purposes, such as:
Describing how nature works. It's hard to accurately describe how
nature works because there may be limited observations, which can lead to
wrong conclusions.
Lab scientific research. Since scientists use the scientific method when
they perform experiments, you might be able to replicate research if you have
the same equipment and follow the same procedures.
Developing critical thinking. Using the scientific method may help you
develop critical thinking in your daily life because you get used to logically
finding answers. Without logical reasoning, you might be more likely to have
a distorted perspective. Having a distorted perspective can make you draw
inaccurate conclusions.
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Why Is the Scientific Method Important?
The scientific method is important because:
It's a standardized approach. The steps used in the scientific method
are systematic, so scientists conduct experiments in a standardized manner.
This means that their experiments can become more widespread.
It eliminates bias. Bias is the tendency to favor your own point of view
over those of others. You can eliminate bias in experiments with the help of a
scientific approach because experiments require objectivity.
Q.2 Discuss importance and scope of Statistics with reference to
a teacher and researcher
The Importance of Statistics in Education (With Examples)
The field of statistics is concerned with collecting, analyzing, interpreting,
and presenting data.
In an education setting, statistics is important for the following reasons:
Reason 1: Statistics allows educators to understand student performance
using descriptive statistics.
Reason 2: Statistics allows educators to spot trends in student performance
using data visualizations.
Reason 3: Statistics allows educators to compare different teaching methods
using hypothesis tests.
In the rest of this article, we elaborate on each of these reasons.
Reason 1: Understand Student Performance Using Descriptive
Statistics
Descriptive statistics are used to describe data.
In an education setting, a teacher might calculate the following descriptive
statistics for students in her class:
The mean score on a certain exam.
The standard deviation of scores on a certain exam.
Note: These types of descriptive statistics are used at every level of
education. For example, a principal can use descriptive statistics to monitor
exam scores of students in an entire school.
Reason 2: Spot Trends Using Data Visualization
Another common way that statistics is used in education is through data
visualizations such as line charts, histograms, boxplots, pie charts and other
charts.
For example, suppose a teacher creates the following bar chart to visualize the
average score on exams throughout the year:
Just from looking at this bar chart, the teacher will be able to tell that the
average exam score of students in her class is slowly decreasing as the year
goes on.
Reason 3: Compare Teaching Methods Using Hypothesis Tests
Another way that statistics is used in education is in the form of hypothesis
tests.
These are tests that educators can use to determine if there is a statistical
significance between different teaching methods.
For example, suppose a teacher wants to determine if a certain study program
affects test scores. To test this, he randomly selects 15 students to take a pre-
test. Then, he has each student use the study program for one month and then
a post-test of similar difficulty.
The test scores for each of the 15 students are shown below:
To compare the difference between the mean scores on the pre-test and post-
test, the teacher can use a paired samples t-test because for each student their
pre-test score can be paired with their post-test score.
Suppose the professor uses statistical software to perform this paired samples
t-test and receives the following results:
In this example, the paired samples t-test uses the following null and
alternative hypotheses:
H0: The mean pre-test and post-test scores are equal
HA: The mean pre-test and post-test scores are not equal
Since the p-value (0.0101) is less than 0.05, we reject the null hypothesis.
Additional Resources
The following articles explain the importance of statistics in other fields:
Q.3 Elaborate probability sampling techniques.
Sampling Methods | Types, Techniques & Examples
Published on September 19, 2019 by Shona McCombes. Revised
on June 22, 2023.
When you conduct research about a group of people, it’s rarely possible to
collect data from every person in that group. Instead, you select a sample. The
sample is the group of individuals who will actually participate in the research.
Probability sampling involves random selection, allowing you to make
strong statistical inferences about the whole group.
Non-probability sampling involves non-random selection based on
convenience or other criteria, allowing you to easily collect data.
You should clearly explain how you selected your sample in
the methodology section of your paper or thesis, as well as how you
approached minimizing research bias in your work.
Population vs. sample
First, you need to understand the difference between a population and a
sample, and identify the target population of your research.
The population is the entire group that you want to draw conclusions about.
The sample is the specific group of individuals that you will collect data from.
The population can be defined in terms of geographical location, age, income,
or many other characteristics.
It can be very broad or quite narrow: maybe you want to make inferences about the
whole adult population of your country; maybe your research focuses on customers
of a certain company, patients with a specific health condition, or students in a single
school.
It is important to carefully define your target population according to the
purpose and practicalities of your project.
Sampling frame
The sampling frame is the actual list of individuals that the sample will be
drawn from. Ideally, it should include the entire target population (and nobody
who is not part of that population).
Example: Sampling frameYou are doing research on working conditions at a
social media marketing company. Your population is all 1000 employees of
the company. Your sampling frame is the company’s HR database, which lists
the names and contact details of every employee.
Sample size
The number of individuals you should include in your sample depends on
various factors, including the size and variability of the population and your
research design. There are different sample size calculators and formulas
depending on what you want to achieve with statistical analysis.
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Probability sampling methods
Probability sampling means that every member of the population has a chance
of being selected. It is mainly used in quantitative research. If you want to
produce results that are representative of the whole population, probability
sampling techniques are the most valid choice.
1. Simple random sampling
In a simple random sample, every member of the population has an equal
chance of being selected. Your sampling frame should include the whole
population.
To conduct this type of sampling, you can use tools like random number
generators or other techniques that are based entirely on chance.
Example: Simple random samplingYou want to select a simple random
sample of 1000 employees of a social media marketing company. You assign
a number to every employee in the company database from 1 to 1000, and use
a random number generator to select 100 numbers.
2. Systematic sampling
Systematic sampling is similar to simple random sampling, but it is usually
slightly easier to conduct. Every member of the population is listed with a
number, but instead of randomly generating numbers, individuals are chosen
at regular intervals.
Example: Systematic samplingAll employees of the company are listed in
alphabetical order. From the first 10 numbers, you randomly select a starting
point: number 6. From number 6 onwards, every 10th person on the list is
selected (6, 16, 26, 36, and so on), and you end up with a sample of 100 people.
3. Stratified sampling
Stratified sampling involves dividing the population into subpopulations that
may differ in important ways. It allows you draw more precise conclusions by
ensuring that every subgroup is properly represented in the sample.
4. Cluster sampling
Cluster sampling also involves dividing the population into subgroups, but
each subgroup should have similar characteristics to the whole sample.
Instead of sampling individuals from each subgroup, you randomly select
entire subgroups.
Example: Cluster samplingThe company has offices in 10 cities across the
country (all with roughly the same number of employees in similar roles). You
don’t have the capacity to travel to every office to collect your data, so you
use random sampling to select 3 offices – these are your clusters.
Non-probability sampling methods
In a non-probability sample, individuals are selected based on non-random
criteria, and not every individual has a chance of being included.
This type of sample is easier and cheaper to access, but it has a higher risk
of sampling bias. That means the inferences you can make about the
population are weaker than with probability samples, and your conclusions
may be more limited.
1. Convenience sampling
A convenience sample simply includes the individuals who happen to be most
accessible to the researcher.
This is an easy and inexpensive way to gather initial data, but there is no way
to tell if the sample is representative of the population, so it can’t
produce generalizable results. Convenience samples are at risk for
both sampling bias and selection bias.
Example: Convenience samplingYou are researching opinions about
student support services in your university, so after each of your classes, you
ask your fellow students to complete a survey on the topic.
2. Voluntary response sampling
Similar to a convenience sample, a voluntary response sample is mainly based
on ease of access. Instead of the researcher choosing participants and directly
contacting them, people volunteer themselves (e.g. by responding to a public
online survey).
Example: Voluntary response samplingYou send out the survey to all students
at your university and a lot of students decide to complete it. This can certainly
give you some insight into the topic, but the people who responded are more
likely to be those who have strong opinions about the student support services,
so you can’t be sure that their opinions are representative of all students.
3. Purposive sampling
This type of sampling, also known as judgement sampling, involves the
researcher using their expertise to select a sample that is most useful to the
purposes of the research.
Example: Purposive samplingYou want to know more about the opinions and
experiences of disabled students at your university, so you purposefully select
a number of students with different support needs in order to gather a varied
range of data on their experiences with student services.
4. Snowball sampling
If the population is hard to access, snowball sampling can be used to recruit
participants via other participants. The number of people you have access to
“snowballs” as you get in contact with more people. The downside here is also
representativeness, as you have no way of knowing how representative your
sample is due to the reliance on participants recruiting others. This can lead
to sampling bias.
Example: Snowball samplingYou are researching experiences of
homelessness in your city. Since there is no list of all homeless people in the
city, probability sampling isn’t possible.
5. Quota sampling
Quota sampling relies on the non-random selection of a predetermined
number or proportion of units. This is called a quota.
Example: Quota samplingYou want to gauge consumer interest in a new
produce delivery service in Boston, focused on dietary preferences. You
divide the population into meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans, drawing a
sample of 1000 people.
Q.4 Explain ‘scatter plot’ and its use in interpreting data.
A Complete Guide to Scatter Plots
What is a scatter plot?
A scatter plot (aka scatter chart, scatter graph) uses dots to represent values
for two different numeric variables. The position of each dot on the horizontal
and vertical axis indicates values for an individual data point. Scatter plots are
used to observe relationships between variables.
The example scatter plot above shows the diameters and heights for a sample
of fictional trees.
When you should use a scatter plot
Scatter plots’ primary uses are to observe and show relationships between two
numeric variables. The dots in a scatter plot not only report the values of
individual data points, but also patterns when the data are taken as a whole.
Common issues when using scatter plots
Overplotting
When we have lots of data points to plot, this can run into the issue of
overplotting. Overplotting is the case where data points overlap to a degree
where we have difficulty seeing relationships between points and variables.
Interpreting correlation as causation
This is not so much an issue with creating a scatter plot as it is an issue with
its interpretation. Simply because we observe a relationship between two
variables in a scatter plot, it does not mean that changes in one variable are
responsible for changes in the other.
For example, it would be wrong to look at city statistics for the amount of
green space they have and the number of crimes committed and conclude that
one causes the other, this can ignore the fact that larger cities with more people
will tend to have more of both, and that they are simply correlated through
that and other factors.
Common scatter plot options
Add a trend line
When a scatter plot is used to look at a predictive or correlational relationship
between variables, it is common to add a trend line to the plot showing the
mathematically best fit to the data.
Categorical third variable
A common modification of the basic scatter plot is the addition of a third
variable. Values of the third variable can be encoded by modifying how the
points are plotted. For a third variable that indicates categorical values (like
geographical region or gender), the most common encoding is through point
color.
Numeric third variable
For third variables that have numeric values, a common encoding comes from
changing the point size. A scatter plot with point size based on a third variable
actually goes by a distinct name, the bubble chart. Larger points indicate
higher values. A more detailed discussion of how bubble charts should be built
can be read in its own article.
Highlight using annotations and color
If you want to use a scatter plot to present insights, it can be good to highlight
particular points of interest through the use of annotations and color.
Desaturating unimportant points makes the remaining points stand out, and
provides a reference to compare the remaining points against.
Related plots
Scatter map
When the two variables in a scatter plot are geographical coordinates – latitude
and longitude – we can overlay the points on a map to get a scatter map (aka
dot map). This can be convenient when the geographic context is useful for
drawing particular insights and can be combined with other third-variable
encodings like point size and color.
Heatmap
As noted above, a heatmap can be a good alternative to the scatter plot when
there are a lot of data points that need to be plotted and their density causes
overplotting issues. However, the heatmap can also be used in a similar
fashion to show relationships between variables when one or both variables
are not continuous and numeric.
Connected scatter plot
If the third variable we want to add to a scatter plot indicates timestamps, then
one chart type we could choose is the connected scatter plot. Rather than
modify the form of the points to indicate date, we use line segments to connect
observations in order.
Visualization tools
The scatter plot is a basic chart type that should be creatable by any
visualization tool or solution. Computation of a basic linear trend line is also
a fairly common option, as is coloring points according to levels of a third,
categorical variable.
Normal Curve: Significance and Applications | Statistics
After reading this article you will learn about:- 1. Significance of Normal Curve 2.
Applications/Uses of Normal Curve/Normal Distribution 3. Table of Areas 4.
Practical Problems.
Significance of Normal Curve:
Normal Curve has great significance in mental measurement and educational
evaluation. It gives important information about the trait being [Link] the
frequency polygon of observations or measurements of a certain trait is a normal
curve, it indicates that:
1. The measured trait is normally distributed in the Universe.
2. Most of the cases are average in the measured trait and their percentage in
the total population is about 68.26%
3. Approximately 15.87% of (50-34.13%) cases are high in the trait measured.
4. Similarly 15.87% cases approximately are low in the trait measured.
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5. The test which is used to measure the trait is good.
Applications/Uses of Normal Curve/Normal Distribution:
There are a number of applications of normal curve in the field of
measurement and evaluation in psychology and education.
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These are:
(i) To determine the percentage of cases (in a normal distribution)
within given limits or scores.
(ii) (ii) To determine the percentage of cases that are above or below a
given score or reference point.
(iii) To determine the limits of scores which include a given percentage of
cases.
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(iv) To determine the percentile rank of a student in his group.
(v) To find out the percentile value of a student’s percentile rank.
(vi) To compare the two distributions in terms of overlapping.
(vii) To determine the relative difficulty of test items, and
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(viii) Dividing a group into sub-groups according to certain ability and
assigning the grades.
Table of Areas under the Normal Curve:
How do we use all the above applications of normal curve in psychological
and educational measurement and evaluation. It is essential first to know
about the Table of areas under the normal curve.
The process is as follows:
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Z = X-M/σ or Z = x/σ
In which Z = Standard Score
X = Raw Score
M = Mean of X Scores
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σ = Standard Deviation of X Scores.
The table of areas of normal probability curve is then referred to find out the
proportion of area between the mean and the Z value. Though the total area
under N P C. is 1, but for convenience, the total area under the curve is taken
to be 10,000 because of greater ease with which fractional parts of the total
area, may be then calculated.
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If we have to find the percentage of the distribution between mean and —1.28
σ, for instance, we take entry 3997 in the column .08, opposite 1.2 in the x/σ
column.
Example 1:
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Given a normal distribution of 500 scores with M = 40 and σ= 8, what
percentage of cases lie between 36 and 48.
Solution:
Z score for raw score 36. Z = X-M/σ 36-40/8 = -4/8
or Z = -05. σ
Z score for raw score 48. Z = 48-40/8 = 8/8 = +1.00
or Z = +1σ
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According to table area under N.P.C. (Table -A) the total percentage of cases that lie
between the Mean and -,5σ is 19.15. The percentage of cases between the Mean and
+1σ is 34.13. Therefore, total percentage of cases that fall between the scores 36 and
48 is 19.15 + 34.13 = 53.28.
(b) To determine the percentile rank of a student in his own group:
The percentile rank is defined as the percentage of scores below a given score:
Example 2:
The raw score of a student of class X on an achievement test is 60. The mean
of the whole class is 50 with standard deviation 5. Find the percentile rank of
the student.
Solution:
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First we convert raw score 60 to Z score by using the formula.
According to the table of area under N.P.C. (Table-A) the area of the curve
that lie between M and + 2σ is 47.72%. The total percentage of cases below
the score 60 is 50 + 47.72 = 97.72% or 98%.
Thus, the percentile rank of a student who secured 60 marks in an achievement
test in the class is 98.
(c) To determine the percentile value of a student whose percentile rank is
known.
Example 3:
In a class Amit’s percentile rank in the mathematics class is 75. The mean of
the class in mathematics is 60 with standard deviation 10. Find out Amit’s
marks in mathematics achievement test.
Solution:
According to definition of percentile rank the position of Amit on the N.P.C.
scale is 25% scores above the mean.
According to the N.P.C. Table the σ score of 25% cases from the Mean is
+.67σ.
Thus, by using the formula:
Amit’s marks in mathematics are 67.
(d) Dividing a group into sub-groups according to the level of ability
Example 4:
Given a group of 500 college students who have been administered a general
mental ability test. The teacher wishes to classify the group in five categories
and assign them the grades A, B, C, D, E according to ability. Assuming the
general mental ability is normally distributed in the population; calculate the
number of students that can be placed in groups A, B, C, D and E.
Solution:
We know that the total area of the Normal Curve extends from -3σ to + 3σ
that is over a range of 6σ.
Dividing this range by 5, we get the σ distance of each category = 6σ/5 = 1.2σ.
Thus, each category is spread over a distance of 1.2σ. The category C will lie
in the middle. Half of its area will be below the mean, and the other half above
the mean.
The σ distance of each category is shown in the figure.
According to N.P.C. table the total percentage of cases from mean to .6σ is
22.57.
The total cases in between -,6σ to + .6σ is 22.57 + 22.57 = 45.14%.
Hence, in category C, the total percentage of students is = 45.14.
Similarly according to N.P.C. Table the total percentage of cases from Mean
to 1.8σa is 46.41.
The total percentage of eases in category B is 46.41 – 22.57 = 23.84%.
In category A the total percentage of cases will be 50 – 46.41 = 3.59%.
Similarly in category D and E the total percentage of the students will be
23.84% and 3.59 respectively.
