Analyzing Differences between Groups
Sharon Raz
In this assignment, you can ask students to analyze social differences or compare groups for statistical differences. This assignment can dive into statistical analysis or not, depending on the type of class it is a part of:
- In a math or statistics class, you can ask students to conduct more advanced statistical analysis and to draw conclusions about the differences between the groups.
- In other classes, this assignment can still be offered, with an emphasis on the description on the data instead of its analysis (using only averages and percentages).
There are many data sources that you can use, here are some examples:
- The U.S Census: Topics. The census website is organized by themes, or topics, making it easier for you to find what you need.
- Issues – USAFacts offers data and reports about different issues that are shaping American life.
- The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) offers different data sources that are related to health: Data & Statistics | CDC
- The Pew Research Center offers data on multiple topics: Topics | Pew Research Center
Here are some examples of questions that you can ask:
- Use the attached data (table, map, graph) to compare, contrast and describe the differences between the groups (specify which groups).
- What factors might have influenced the differences between the groups? You are invited to conduct some research about the possible factors.
- How might the differences between the groups impact other factors (specify)?
- You can also focus on a specific industry and ask students to describe the differences between different social groups in the industry, for example, you can offer data about employees in the automotive field and ask students to analyze and describe the demographics of the field according to gender, race and ethnicity, age, etc.