Chapter 4

You will need

grid paper

GOAL
Create a questionnaire, and use the results to
answer a question.

Samaras parents are concerned about

how much time she spends on the
Internet. She wants to show
her parents that the
amount of time
she spends
using the
Internet is
not unusual.

How can you collect and display data

about students Internet use?

Samaras Solution
I need to choose a method for collecting data about
Internet use.
I cant observe the students since they use the
Internet in the evenings at their own homes.
I cant do an experiment.
I dont have time for individual interviews.
I can use a questionnaire.

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NEL

questionnaire
A set of questions
used to gather
information
from people;
a questionnaire
is sometimes
used instead of
interviewing people
one by one.

A. Two questions that

Samara included in her
questionnaire are
shown. Do you think
these questions will
help her find out what
she wants to know
about Internet use in
her school? Explain
your thinking.
B. What are some other
questions that Samara
could include in her
questionnaire?

11.. How ofte

often
f do
ften
d yyou chec
check
your
ou e-mail?
e mail?
il?
never
a few times a month
a few times a week
almost every night
every night
2. How often do you use the
Internet for instant messaging?
never
a few times a month
a few times a week
almost every night
every night

C. Create a questionnaire using two of your questions from

Part B. Use your questionnaire to collect data about the
Internet use of students in your class. Record your results
in a tally chart.

Reading Strategy
Activating
Knowledge
What do you know
about graphing that
you can use to
choose and create
a graph?

D. Create a graph to display the results for one of your

questions. Use your graph to answer the question.

E. When would you use a questionnaire rather than

an interview to collect data? Explain your thinking.
F. What makes a good question for a
questionnaire?

Checking

NEL

1. Anand wants to know how many movies his classmates

watch each month. He also wants to know whether
they prefer renting movies or going to a movie theatre.
a) Anand considered using observations or interviews
but chose to use a questionnaire. Was his choice of
a questionnaire a good one? Why or why not?
b) What questions could Anand include in his
questionnaire? What choices could he offer for
each question?
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Practising
2. Would you use a questionnaire to gather data to
answer each of these questions? Why or why not?
a) Do Grade 6 students like to play video games?
If so, which games?
b) Can people who can jump farther also jump
higher?
c) How many hours each week do your classmates
watch television?
d) What was the highest and lowest temperature in
your community each year since 2000?

Communication Tip
When you gather
information to look
at something closely,
you are conducting
a survey. An opinion
survey can be done
by talking to people
or by having people
complete a
questionnaire. A
traffic survey can be
done by observing
and counting traffic.

3. According to the results of an

online questionnaire, Brussels
sprouts are the least favourite
vegetable of most people.
Potatoes are the most
favourite vegetable.
a) Design a questionnaire to find out your classmates
least favourite and most favourite vegetables.
b) Conduct a survey using your questionnaire. Record
your results in a tally chart.
c) Construct a bar graph or pictograph to display the
results for one of your questions.
d) What did you learn about your classmates
favourite vegetables from your survey?
4. a) Choose a topic to survey your classmates about.
Write two questions for a questionnaire.
b) Use your questionnaire to collect data. Record the
data in a tally chart.
c) Create a graph to display the data for each question.
d) Use the graphs you drew in part c) to make
conclusions about the topic you chose.
5. What are some important things to keep in mind
when you write a question for a questionnaire?

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NEL