Key Stage 3

In this unit pupils consider the information that they need in order to collect appropriate data to test a hypothesis. They do this through the scenario of a lottery bid for funding to build new sports facilities on the school site. They collect data using questionnaires, design a structure to contain the data and enter it into a file.

Using this data, they analyse results and draw conclusions. During the process they learn how to add fields to the database and consider data-validation techniques that might be used to check the data for accuracy. Once all data has been collated they use the results to produce a report to support the lottery bid.

This unit is expected to take 6 hours

• data-handling software that allows data from a number of files to be merged to form one file