Collecting data or running an experiment
Discuss a situation in which you collected data or ran an experiment. Describe the type of data you collected. Did you summarize the data? If so, how? In responding to your classmates, discuss a post that you find intriguing or quite different from your own situation and experience. Comment how you would describe the center and spread of the data.
Sample Answer
In my previous role as a social worker, I worked with a group of young adults who were struggling with addiction. As part of my work, I wanted to better understand the factors that contributed to their addiction. I decided to collect data on the following factors:
- Age: I wanted to know how old the young adults were when they first started using drugs.
- Gender: I wanted to know if there was a difference in the rates of addiction between males and females.
- Race/ethnicity: I wanted to know if there was a difference in the rates of addiction between different racial and ethnic groups.
- Family history of addiction: I wanted to know if the young adults had any family members who were addicted to drugs.
- History of trauma: I wanted to know if the young adults had experienced any trauma in their lives.
I collected this data by conducting interviews with the young adults and by reviewing their medical records. Once I had collected the data, I summarized it using descriptive statistics. This included calculating the mean, median, and standard deviation for each variable.
I found that the average age at which the young adults started using drugs was 16 years old. There was no significant difference in the rates of addiction between males and females. However, there was a significant difference in the rates of addiction between different racial and ethnic groups. African American young adults were more likely to be addicted to drugs than white young adults.