Scientific Questionare
By: Lekhitha Ammaresh and Karthikeyan Lakshmandoss
Question:
Does gender affect how long you use technology after school?
Hypothesis
Girls use technology for non-academic purposes longer than boys do on a daily basis.
Type of Investigation
Comparative investigation
Parts of the Experiment
1. Independent variable: Gender of the student
2. Dependent variable: # of hours technology is used for non-academic purposes
3. Control group: None
4. Experiment group: Boys and girls
5. Two factors held constant: All the students study in Coppell High School and the # of students in each category were the same.
Data
Boys
Mean: 2.1
SEM: 0.428
Range: 5.5
Girls
Mean: 2.5
SEM: 0.42
Range: 4.5
Range Error Bars For Time Spent On Technology
Error Bars For Time Spent On Technology
Analysis
Gender does not affect the number of hours a student uses technology for non-academic purposes on a daily basis. Our hypothesis was proven wrong. While the mean of the girls’ is higher, the SEM has an overlap with the boys’ graph. The girls have a mean of 2.5 and the boys have a mean of 2.1. There is a 0.4 difference in the mean. However, the SEM of the boy’s is slightly larger with a SEM of 0.428 versus the 0.42 of the girl’s. When there is an overlap it shows that there is not a significant difference between the data. Our p value was about 0.5, which is significantly higher than 0.05. A p value higher than 0.05 also shows that the the data was not significantly different. The original assumption was made because it was thought that girl tend to use social media more often. Research has proven this true. Girls text 17% more, tweet 11% more, and post picture 33% more than boys. (http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/06/teens-technology-and-friendships/) So why does the data show that there is no difference? This is because technology has more than social media to offer. Research has shown boys prefer games over social media. 91% of boys have access to some kind of game console versus the 70% girls do. (http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/part-1-teens-and-social-media-use/) And boy prefer to use phones and online technology for games rather than social media. (http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/) In the end it seem that the variation is in what they choose to with the technology instead of the time spent.
Conclusion
We initially believed that girls would use technology for non-academic purposes for a longer period of time than boys do on a daily basis. But we were wrong. Gender does not, in any way, affect the number of hours a student uses technology.
Sources of Inaccuracies/Errors
We had some inaccuracies and errors in our data. The boys and girls tested were mostly of an Asian ethnic race; this could have shifted the results from boys and girls in general to asian boys and girls instead. We also measured our data in hours. If we had measured the data in minutes, then the students might have given a more accurate answer instead of rounding it off to the nearest half hour. The students gave an estimation of the # of hours they used technology for non-academic purposes. They may be using more without realizing because free-use technology was used intermittently while doing school related works on technology.
Bibliography
Doctoroff, Ariel. "Study: Girls More Plugged in Than Boys." N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2015.
Julene Thompson. "The Latest on How Teens Use Social Media and Tech." Penna Powers. N.p., 19 May 2015. Web. 06 Sept. 2015.
Lenhart, Amanda. "Teens, Technology and Friendships." Pew Research Center Internet Science Tech RSS. N.p., 06 Aug. 2015. Web. 07 Sept. 2015.
Madden, Mary, Amanda Lenhart, Sandra Cortesi, Urs Gasser, Maeve Duggan, Aaron Smith, and Meredith Beaton. "Part 1: Teens and Social Media Use." Pew Research Center Internet Science Tech RSS. N.p., 21 May 2013. Web. 07 Sept. 2015.
Martin, Jennifer. “Designing a Scientific Questionnaire Online Poster”. Lab packet. Coppell High School. Texas. n.d. Print.
About the Expirement
Thirteen girls and thirteen boys were asked how long they use technology for non-academic purposes after school on a daily basis.
The purpose was to see if gender played a role in how long one uses technology.