Communicating insights to an audience

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Your research question was: 'Does sleep affect test marks?' Which opening line best communicates your insight?

A Students who slept 8+ hours scored 12% higher on average.

B First I surveyed 40 students, then I cleaned the data, then I made a chart.

2. What is the main purpose of the final life cycle stage, communicating insights?

A Collect more data until the dataset is as large as possible

B Present findings so the audience can see the answer to the original question

3. Which sentence links the finding back to the objective?

A This answers our question: canteen sales are highest on Fridays.

B Here is a colourful chart I made in the spreadsheet.

4. Your data came from 15 students in one class. Which statement shows the limits of the data correctly?

A This result is true for every student in Australia.

B This is a small sample from one class, so the result may not apply to the whole school.

5. True or false: A good presentation should hide the limits of the data so the audience trusts the result.

A False

B True

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Key finding: Year 9 students sleep 7.2 hours on average.		ANoting a limit of the data so the audience knows how far to trust the finding
2Limit: only 30 students from one school were surveyed.		BThe key finding is buried at the end, so the audience waits to learn the answer. Put the key finding first.
3Link back to the objective: show how the finding answers the original research question		CThe limits of the data are ignored: a sample of 30 cannot prove a claim about all teenagers. State the limit and soften the claim.
4Present the finding so the audience can see the answer, such as a simple chart with a clear title that states the result		Dtitle = 'Year 10s sleep 1.3 hours less than Year 7s'
5Slide 1: Method. Slide 2: Raw data. Slide 3: ...the answer on the last slide.		EQuestion: Do Year 10s sleep less than Year 7s? Answer: Yes, by 1.3 hours.
6Conclusion: Our results prove every teenager in Australia sleeps 7.2 hours. (Sample: 30 students)		FStating the key finding first so the audience sees the answer straight away

Definitions

Communicate insights

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

_____________("Mean mark rose by 6 points")

______________("Does sleep affect marks?")

__________("Only 30 students surveyed")

="Top mark: "&___(B2:B9)

="Based on "&_____(B2:B9)&" students"

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A SAY "Finding: wait is 9 min"

B SAY "Goal: is the wait long?"

C SAY "No limits, all perfect"

Question 2

A goal ← "Who brings lunch?"

B finding ← "Lunch is good"

C SAY finding, goal

Question 3

A SAY "Finding: 60% sleep under 8h"

B SAY "Goal: is sleep enough?"

C SAY "Fact: true for all teens"

Question 4

A finding ← "40% buses late"

B goal ← "Is the bus on time?"

C limit ← "Only 2 weeks of data"

D SAY limit, goal, finding

Question 5

A SAY "First: how we made it"

B SAY "Goal: favourite subject?"

C SAY "Limit: only Year 9 asked"

Answer Key

Communicating insights to an audience

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Students who slept 8+ hours scored 12% higher on average.

B — Present findings so the audience can see the answer to the original question

A — This answers our question: canteen sales are highest on Fridays.

B — This is a small sample from one class, so the result may not apply to the whole school.

A — False

Section B: Match the Pairs

Key finding: Year 9 students sleep 7.2 hours on average. → Stating the key finding first so the audience sees the answer straight away

Limit: only 30 students from one school were surveyed. → Noting a limit of the data so the audience knows how far to trust the finding

Link back to the objective: show how the finding answers the original research question → Question: Do Year 10s sleep less than Year 7s? Answer: Yes, by 1.3 hours.

Present the finding so the audience can see the answer, such as a simple chart with a clear title that states the result → title = 'Year 10s sleep 1.3 hours less than Year 7s'

Slide 1: Method. Slide 2: Raw data. Slide 3: ...the answer on the last slide. → The key finding is buried at the end, so the audience waits to learn the answer. Put the key finding first.

Conclusion: Our results prove every teenager in Australia sleeps 7.2 hours. (Sample: 30 students) → The limits of the data are ignored: a sample of 30 cannot prove a claim about all teenagers. State the limit and soften the claim.

Section C: Definitions

Communicate insights — The final life cycle stage: present findings so the audience sees the answer to the original question. State the key finding first, link to the objective and note data limits.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

state_finding("Mean mark rose by 6 points")

link_objective("Does sleep affect marks?")

note_limit("Only 30 students surveyed")

="Top mark: "&MAX(B2:B9)

="Based on "&COUNT(B2:B9)&" students"

Section E: Spot the Error

C — Good communication notes the limits of the data. Line 3 should state a real limit, such as the small sample of 20 students, not claim the data is perfect.

B — The finding must be a specific result that answers the original question. It should say something like "70% bring lunch", not a vague opinion.

C — Line 3 overgeneralises from a small sample. It should state the limit honestly, for example that only 30 Year 9s were surveyed.

D — The key finding should come first, then the link to the goal, then the limits. Line 4 should be SAY finding, goal, limit.

A — Line 1 must state the key finding first. The audience should see the answer straight away, not read about the method.