This research is part of an investigation into young children’s ability to interpret and understand bivariate data within the context of primary science pattern-seeking investigations ( Watson et al. 1999) in the UK. Previous involvement by the author in developing work in schools where the children construct and interpret whole class scatter graphs has provided the context for the proposed study. This study has been the first opportunity to apply research methods to this work to gain an objective assessment of the extent to which children can create meaning from scatter graphs and monitor how their ability to interpret trend develops over a three year period. The target group of children will be a class of mixed ability children who will experience a sequence of taught sessions of a pattern-seeking investigation at age 8-9 years old ( Y4); 9-10 years old ( Y5); and finally at 10-11 years old (Y6)

The purpose of the current investigation is to gain insights into how effective a questionnaire is at probing children’s ability to read bivariate data points on a graph. The questionnaire is to be used as a pre- and post- intervention instrument to gauge the children’s ability to interpret  a scatter graph accurately and to identify the extent to which the taught sessions aid children’s understanding of the graph. The test instrument is intended for use with a focus group of mixed ability children (Kitzinger et al. 1999). Insights gained from the trialling of the instrument can be used to modify the instrument itself or its use with the target class. The trial was conducted with test subjects from a school within the same cluster as the target school.

The pilot feeds into a broader study that employs mixed methods research methodology utilising both qualitative and quantitative components (Johnson et al. 2007). The questionnaire will be used to supply numerical data to respond to the first research question ‘To what extent can children make sense of data re-presented as a scatter graph over the period of the study?’ These data will be used to compare the children’s understanding over the three years of the investigation and for comparison with existing research (Taylor and Swatton, 1989; Swatton and Taylor,1994) The responses will also be used during semi-structured interviews with the  focus group children; the qualitative aspect of the research design is intended to respond to the second research question, ‘How does the pupils’ understanding of the information re-presented in the scatter graph, and in particular their understanding of the concept of trend when represented pictorially, develop over a series of teaching and learning episodes?’ Answers to specific questions in the interviews can be compared to establish if there are  patterns emerging from the children’s thinking.

The author will also use the test instrument within the study for the purposes of triangulation and complementarity (Andrew and Halcomb, 2007). The data from the test instrument will provide additional information which, in combination with data from other methods, will help to give the findings validity.

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