Data Analysis (OCR GCSE Geography)

Analysis

• Once data has been collected and presented it needs to be analysed
• Analysis is the process which makes sense of the data collected
  • It identifies patterns, trends, significance, connections and/or meaning in the data 
• Analysis involves a number of stages
  • Describe the data shown in the graphs/photographs/maps
  • Identification of the highest and lowest results
  • Identification of any patterns and trends
  • Identification of any relationships between data
• Methods of analysis depend upon the data collected
• Quantitative data is analysed using numerical and statistical methods

Analysing photographs and field sketches

• Annotation of photographs and field sketches is part of the analysis 
• The use of photographs and field sketches is a qualitative analysis
• Analysis in annotation gives meaning to the features shown in the photograph/field sketch

Example of an annotated photograph

Numerical and statistical skills

• Statistical methods can be used to help explore and explain the results gathered during data collection

Mean, median and mode

• These are measures of central tendency
• The mean is calculated by adding up all of the values in the data set and then dividing by the total number of values in the data set
• The median is the middle value of a set of data. The numbers are arranged in rank order and then the middle value selected
• The mode is the value which occurs most frequently in a set of data

Range 

• A measure of dispersion: the spread of data around the average
• The range is the distance between the highest and lowest value
• Interquartile range is the part of the range that covers the middle 50% of the data

Anomalies

• These are results which do not fit the pattern or trend
• They need to be described and explained