1. collecting information
We can collect a lot of weather information by reading the weather
instruments at our weather station. This will tell what the weather
has been like. We sometimes need to find out how the weather
affects people. To collect this kind of information we need to
ask people questions. A simple questionnaire might ask :-
a. what type of weather do you most like ?
(choose from - frost ; strong winds ; heavy rain ; thick fog
; hot + sunny)
b. what type of weather do you least like ?
(choose from - frost ; strong winds ; heavy rain ; thick fog
; hot + sunny)
It would also be useful to us, when we come to process this
information, to know the age and sex of the people we interview.
Sometimes people can get upset if you ask their age (they may
even not tell you the truth).
It is usually best to estimate (guess) their age and write down
a " M " or " F " to record their sex. A record
sheet is a good way to collect your information.
e.g. :-
2. processing information
When we have collected this information, then we will want to
do something to it to make it useful to us. The best way to do
this would be to draw graphs for the information we have collected.
We could then easily compare the answers given e.g.
a. to compare 10 mens' answers to 10 boys answers
b. to compare 10 mens' answers to 10 ladies answers
c. to compare 10 girls' answers to 10 boys answers
10 ladies were asked what type of weather they liked most and
what type they disliked. When the results of this survey were
graphed we could easily see which type of weather was most popular
i.e. sun. We could also see that they disliked rainy weather
the most.
