This is part of a book project called: The ABC’s of Statistics… with Cats. If you’re new here or not sure of what I’m talking about, see my previous post. My plan is to release a page each week on Instagram with more details in this newsletter. It’s written with kids in mind, but I’ve also included some notes to grown-ups in italics 💁🏻♀️.
D is for… Dog? Dinosaur? Donut?
Explain like I’m five(-ish)
Data is a collection of facts or pieces of information that help us learn about the world. Think of it like gathering clues! Statistics helps us study data in cool ways.
There are two kinds of data. Quantitative data is the kind of information that you can count or measure, like how many pets you have or how tall they are. Qualitative data is the kind of information that describes things, like how they look, feel, smell, taste, etc. Using the pets example, think about the type of animal, color, texture of their fur or skin or what they like to eat.
Mini quiz time
Let’s figure out if the data examples below are quantitative or qualitative.
🐱Your pet cat’s personality (e.g., friendly, grumpy).
👧🏻 The number of kids in your class.
💇🏽♀️ Your friend’s hair color and texture (e.g., straight, wavy, curly).
😓 The number of kids who were late to school today (hopefully zero!).
📚 The number of picture books on your bookshelf.
Can you think of more examples? Look at the world around you and put on your special “data detective glasses” to figure out if things are quantitative or qualitative data 🕵🏼♀️!
💁🏻♀️ Grown-ups, you can easily incorporate some “data chats” as you’re going about your everyday lives with your littles!