CBA 2 is a 'statistical investigation' that you will complete during the first term of 3rd year. Over a three-week period in class, you will work with the statistical enquiry cycle (see below) to investigate a statistical question of your choice and you are free to select any statistical question that interests you. Examples of some statistical investigations include the following (the list is endless):
Guide
How to succeed in your Junior Cycle Maths CBA 2
By Stephen Begley - 11 minute readIn this guide, maths teacher and state examiner Stephen Begley shares his top tips on succeeding in your Junior Cycle Maths CBA 2.
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Introduction
Who can run faster, 3rd-year girls or boys?
Do urban or rural students have longer screen time?
Who can hold their breath for longer, kids or adults?
An analysis of the length of time and the mode of transport people use to travel to school.
Compare the number of hours spent exercising by boys and girls.
You will present your CBA in a format of your choice, be it a poster, a written or typed report, a PowerPoint presentation, etc. in roughly 650-800 words.
The statistical enquiry cycle
Let's have a closer look at this cycle:
Define your investigation
When you follow the statistical enquiry cycle, you will first define your statistical investigation. This is when you come up with a statistical question that you wish to answer. At this stage, it is important to think about if it is possible to gather the data necessary to answer your question.
Gathering your data
You then move on to gathering your data. After this, you will organise and manage your data in various tables and graphs to get a good look at it. You will also use statistical calculations such as the mean, mode, median and range to summarise your data.
Analyse and interpret your data
Finally, you will analyse and interpret any findings in your data. You will use your graphs and calculations to try and explain what is happening in the data. You will then use this analysis to try and answer your statistical question. The cycle can be vague at times but in our template below we have lots of prompts and tips on what to do at each stage.
Choosing your statistical question
The toughest part of the CBA for most people is trying to think of a statistical question. A good rule of thumb is to try choosing a question that analyses numerical data across two or more different groups/categories, for example:
Who can run faster (numerical), boys or girls (categorical)?
Do urban or rural students (categorical) have longer screen time (numerical)?
A comparison of the number of sports (numerical) played by girls and boys (categorical).
Following this structure will allow you to create comparative graphs and complete lots of statistical calculations. When coming up with a question, try to think of what interests you, things like:
Sports
Animals
Travelling
Fashion
Cooking
Music
Remember, data is just information and data is everywhere so if you narrow down your area of interest, you can then focus on looking for the data. Your teacher, family, friends and the internet are the best resources to use for this stage.
When you do think of your question, make sure you will be able to collect the data needed to try to answer the question and be sure to ask your teacher for feedback on your question to make sure you will be able to carry out an investigation on it.
Remember
You will be using your knowledge about the types of data, designing an investigation, graphical representations of data, numerical calculations and summaries for data along with different statistical phrases and keywords to complete this CBA.
Assessment information
Your teacher will award you one of the following grade descriptors for your CBA:
Exceptional
Above expectations
In line with expectations
Yet to meet expectations
Every teacher across the country uses the same tool to correct the CBAs which is called the Features of Quality (see below). It is a good idea to familiarise yourself with it so that you can see where the top grades are going and what is needed to get these results.
Remember
CBA 2 forms the basis of the Assessment Task.
Features of Quality
Below is a table outlining the Features of Quality for the statistical investigation:
sourced from: Junior Cycle for teachers (https://www.jct.ie/perch/resources/maths/features-of-quality-cba-2-poster-)
Student-friendly version
As you can see above, the language used in the Features of Quality can be complicated as it is used by teachers to correct your work.
See below for a student-friendly version to help you understand the marking process better. While you work through your CBA, it is a good idea to check in with this to check whether you are on track for the grade you are aiming for.
How this guide can help you
This guide contains a scaffold template (under 'useful links' below) that can help you work through your CBA in an organised manner. It breaks the statistical investigation into 7 steps and the idea is that if you follow each of these steps and follow the prompts, you can then use this as the basis for your final report.
The template follows the four main sections from the Features of Quality and each section has several sub-titles and prompts for you to follow. All in all, there are 7 steps within these sections for you to follow to help you create your final report:
Top tip
If you complete this scaffold template (booklet), then you simply take the titles and your workings and copy them into your final report, poster or PowerPoint presentation. You can use it as your rough and messy first draft which you will then copy into your final version.
Data types and appropriate graphs/calculations
Below is a table of the best type of graph to use for each data type. It also states the most appropriate measure of centre to find for each data type. When you’re completing your investigation, make sure that you use graphs and calculations appropriate to your data.
Remember
The measures of centre are the averages (the mean, the mode and the median). They look at what is happening around the ‘centre’ of your data.
Checklists
Checklist for statistical graphs
Make sure your graphs have appropriate titles and labels on the axes.
Always use a ruler when drawing a graph.
Be sure to include a comment beside each graph explaining what is happening.
If you are comparing two groups you can use back-to-back or stacked versions of the above plots. This can help you get a good look at a direct comparison of the groups.
When dealing with histograms, it’s a good idea to talk about the shape of the graph (distribution). You may wish to research the following descriptions for histograms: left skewed, right skewed or symmetric.
Top tip
There are many other types of graphs not on the Junior Cycle course that may suit your data. You may wish to research other graphs to help visualise your data. Examples of some other graphs are scatterplots, boxplots, bubble charts and time series plots.
Checklist for statistical calculations
Always show your workings.
Use the appropriate units.
Double-check your answers. You don’t want to include incorrect calculations.
Include a comment beside each calculation. Highlight what this calculation means in the context of your data.
You may wish to calculate percentages, ratios or proportions of different groups. These can be useful when comparing different groups, for example, 75% of girls scored above 100 while only 20% of boys did.
Top tip
There are many other statistical calculations that are not on the Junior Cycle course that may be relevant to your investigation. You may wish to research these to help summarise your data. Examples include the inter-quartile range, variance or standard deviation.
Final tips
Final Tips
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Choose a topic that interests you
The more interested you are in the topic, the more you will commit to and enjoy it. Choosing your question can be a tough task so use resources like your teacher, your friends and family and the internet to try to come up with a statistical question for your CBA.
1
Get feedback
Ask your teacher for feedback on your progress. It's a good idea to check that you are on track and ask for help if you’re stuck or unsure of what to do next.
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Make the most of your time
Three weeks might seem like a long time but it will fly by. Stay on track and set small targets each day to progress through the CBA.
3
Explain everything
When you’re creating your final report, make sure you explain everything. Justify all your graphs, tables and calculations. Be sure you have a detailed conclusion answering your question and always show your workings for all calculations. If you follow the prompts in our template below, you will fly it!
Features of Quality
Be sure to check in with the Features of Quality regularly. This is basically the marking scheme for the CBA so you can clearly see what an 'exceptional' CBA needs to contain. As you work through your CBA, read the student-friendly version of the Features of Quality and check if you’re hitting the nail on the head with what is required.
Some final tips
for the Junior Cycle CBA 2
Choose a topic that interests you
The more interested you are in the topic, the more you will commit to and enjoy it. Choosing your question can be a tough task so use resources like your teacher, your friends and family and the internet to try to come up with a statistical question for your CBA.
Get feedback
Ask your teacher for feedback on your progress. It's a good idea to check that you are on track and ask for help if you’re stuck or unsure of what to do next.
Make the most of your time
Three weeks might seem like a long time but it will fly by. Stay on track and set small targets each day to progress through the CBA.
Explain everything
When you’re creating your final report, make sure you explain everything. Justify all your graphs, tables and calculations. Be sure you have a detailed conclusion answering your question and always show your workings for all calculations. If you follow the prompts in our template below, you will fly it!
Features of Quality
Be sure to check in with the Features of Quality regularly. This is basically the marking scheme for the CBA so you can clearly see what an 'exceptional' CBA needs to contain. As you work through your CBA, read the student-friendly version of the Features of Quality and check if you’re hitting the nail on the head with what is required.
Hope these help - you've got this!
Useful links
Check out the CBA 2 Scaffold Template here.
Best of luck! You'll do great.
By Stephen Begley
Stephen is a Mathematics & Coding teacher at Dundalk Grammar School. Stephen tutors maths at Maynooth University’s Mathematics Support Centre and is also an examiner. Having a huge passion for teaching maths, Stephen believes that with the right guidance and attitude, everyone can enjoy and succeed in maths.