How do you collect good data and write fair questions?
Data collection sheets, tally charts, questionnaires, open and closed questions, response boxes and avoiding leading or biased questions.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Statistics on collecting data, covering data collection sheets and tally charts, open and closed questions, designing non-overlapping response boxes, and how to spot and fix leading or biased questions.
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What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to design good data collection sheets and questionnaires: use tally charts, choose between open and closed questions, write non-overlapping response boxes that cover all cases, and identify and improve leading or biased questions. "Criticise this question" and "improve this question" are reliable marks on every paper, so the rules below repay learning precisely.
Data collection sheets and tally charts
Tally charts suit observation, such as counting car colours passing a school, because you can add a mark instantly without writing numbers. A tally chart converts directly into a frequency table by counting the marks in each row, which then feeds straight into bar charts, pie charts or averages.
Open and closed questions
Closed questions dominate GCSE questionnaires because the data is easy to tabulate and chart, and every respondent answers in the same format. Open questions are useful when you cannot predict the answers, or when you want detailed opinions, but they take far longer to code and compare. A good questionnaire often uses mostly closed questions with one open question at the end for additional comments.
Designing response boxes
A box set like " to ", " to " is faulty because fits two boxes; " to ", " to " fixes the overlap. Always finish with an open-ended box such as " or more" so that large values still have a home, and always state the unit and time frame so respondents interpret the question the same way.
Avoiding leading and biased questions
A leading question pushes the respondent towards a particular answer, for example "Do you agree that homework is too hard?" A neutral version is "How difficult do you find homework?" with a balanced set of options from "very easy" to "very hard". Questions should also avoid being too personal, vague, or assuming the respondent does the activity ("How often do you go to the gym?" assumes they go at all). A pilot study, a small trial run before the main survey, is the standard way to catch these faults early, by checking that respondents understand the questions and that the answers can be analysed.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20183 marksA questionnaire includes the question: "How many hours of television do you watch? to , to , to ." (a) Give two criticisms of this question. (b) Rewrite it so it can be answered properly.Show worked answer →
(a) Two criticisms: the response boxes overlap ( and each appear in two boxes), and there is no time frame (per day? per week?) and no option for more than hours.
(b) Improved: "How many hours of television do you watch per day? to , to , to , or more." (non-overlapping, exhaustive, with a time frame).
Markers reward two distinct faults (overlap, missing time frame, no high option) and a corrected question that is non-overlapping, exhaustive and time-bounded.
AQA 20212 marksExplain why the question "Do you agree that our school should have longer lunch breaks?" is unsuitable for a questionnaire, and suggest an improvement.Show worked answer →
It is a leading question: "Do you agree" pushes the respondent toward saying yes, which biases the results.
An improved, neutral version: "How long should lunch breaks be? Shorter, the same, longer" with balanced options.
Markers reward identifying it as leading/biased and offering a neutral rewording with a balanced set of responses.
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Sources & how we know this
- AQA GCSE Statistics (8382) specification — AQA (2017)