Science Fair I have my data….now how do I analyze it?

Before you begin your analysis… Review your data. Try to look at the results of your experiment with a critical eye. Ask yourself these questions: Is it complete, or did you forget something? Do you need to collect more data? Did you make any mistakes?

Check your graphs… Make sure to clearly label all tables and graphs. And, include the units of measurement (volts, inches, grams, etc.). Place your independent variable on the x- axis of your graph and the dependent variable on the y-axis.

When you are ready…. Take some time to carefully review all of the data you have collected from your experiment. Use charts and graphs to help you analyze the data and patterns. Did you get the results you had expected? What did you find out from your experiment? Really think about what you have discovered and use your data to help you explain why you think certain things happened.

Questions to ask yourself… Is there sufficient data to know whether your hypothesis is supported by the data? If it supports, you can claim the experiment was successful or you may have to do more trials to get a conclusive result. Is your data accurate? Have you summarized your data with an average, if appropriate? Does your chart specify units of measurement for all data? Have you verified that all calculations (if any) are correct?

Words to use…. Increase Decrease Proportional Directly relates to Pattern

Using the tables/graphs effectively…. Do not repeat all of the information in the text that appears in a table, but do summarize it. For example, if you present a table of temperature measurements taken at various times, describe the general pattern of temperature change and refer to the table.

Example… The temperature of the solution increased rapidly at first, going from 50º to 80º in the first three minutes (Table 1). The temperature of the solution directly relates to the environmental temperature.

DON’T….. You don't want to list every single measurement in the text ("After one minute, the temperature had risen to 55º. After two minutes, it had risen to 58º," etc.). There is no hard and fast rule about when to report all measurements in the text and when to put the measurements in a table and refer to them, but use your common sense. Remember that readers have all that data in the accompanying tables and figures, so your task in this section is to highlight key data, changes, or relationships.