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Numeracy, Statistics & Science

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Maths

Numeracy (maths) is an essential skill in everyday life which appears in a lot of subjects when you may not expect it. Students should ensure they are prepared with the mathematical skills relevant to their area of study. The application of these skills to calculate solutions to problems is referred to as numeracy. To be considered numerate, students need to recognise situations that require maths skills and be able to confidently apply their knowledge.

The video below describes what numeracy is and gives examples of where it might appear in everyday life.

What is numeracy?

Everyone can improve their mathematical ability with practice, even if maths wasn’t your favourite subject at school. Engaging with the resources below will develop your mathematical skills required for many of the numeracy requirements of your degree.

If you need some more help, The Learning Centre has maths and numeracy specific learning advisors that can help you with your study.

Maths refresher workbooks
Download Workbook 1
Download Workbook 2

Statistics

Whether you want to be a successful business owner, an economist, a psychologist, a medical doctor, a nurse, an environmental scientist, an engineer, or any other vocation (yep, even if you want to be a politician), it is likely that you will encounter data and statistics during the course of your studies and career. You may need to make decisions based on this data. You want to make sure that your decisions are correct, that the money is well-spent etc. For that, you need to understand how to analyse and interpret data.

During your studies and in your career, you may have a burning question about something, e.g., why some birds are only found in a certain patch of woods, why a type of product is a best-seller, which medicine formula is effective in combatting a disease, or why a certain demography of voters behaved in a certain way in an election. To answer these questions (and so many other questions), you would employ a quantitative research process, collect data, and use statistics. As part of this, you need to decide how you would collect data and how you draw the sample from your target population. You need to understand what type of analysis is the most suitable for your data, including describing data as well as formulating and testing hypotheses. Finally, you need to present your results in an effective manner.

For these reasons, the Learning Centre provides learning resources on basic statistics. These materials are divided into four modules:

Module A:
Data types and methods of sampling

Module B:
Descriptive statistics (including measures of central tendency and measures of spread) and normal distribution

Module C:
Inferential statistics (hypothesis testing, p-values and significance, choosing the right test)

Module D:
Presenting data

Module A helps you to understand the importance of data types and data collection methods. Once you have collected your data, Module B helps you to understand the “behaviours” of your data, e.g., whether they are normally distributed or not, and how to describe your data (descriptive statistics). In module C (inferential statistics), you will learn about hypothesis testing and what statistical significance is. In addition, module C covers the important process of choosing the correct statistical analysis for your context. Lastly, module D guides you in presenting your results in an effective manner.

A guide for R Studio Basics is available here.

Science

Writing in the sciences follows the same principles of academic writing, however there may be some technical differences based on the type of report that is required and what is expected of you by your lecturer. It is important to consult your subject resources and marking criteria to ensure you prepare your assessments accurately.

Here are some guidelines to help you write a science report, but be aware that your lecturer may have specific requirements, so this should only be used as a guide.

Presenting Data

Writing Laboratory reports

When preparing a laboratory report, write the methods and results sections first, followed by the discussion and introduction. If you include an abstract, this is usually the last section that is written. The sections are presented here in the order they usually appear in the report.

An overview of the entire report. It usually includes some background information about the context, a brief mention of the method used, the most important results and a statement of conclusion or recommendation.

Tense: Present

**Not all reports have an abstract. They are usually only included in longer reports.

Introduces the broad context and outlines the purpose for the study. An introduction cites and describes the results of other studies to give the context of the current report. The aims/hypothesis is included towards the end of this section.

Tense: Present (when referring to current knowledge), past (when stating what was done and what was found).

Include a description of the materials and methods used. There should be enough details for others to repeat the study. This section sometimes includes a description of how the data was processed, if required.

Tense: Past

A description of the results, with relevant displays of the results, such as diagrams, tables and graphs. Sometimes it is appropriate to make comments about the results, but be careful not to discuss them.

Tense: Past or present (choose one tense and be consistent). Present tense is more authoritative.

An explanation and interpretation of the results. Often this section includes a critical analysis of the results by discussing the strengths and limitations of the study. There are many opportunities within the discussion to compare and contrast your results with previous studies.

Tense: Present (when referring to the results in your study). Past (when referring to other studies).

**Sometimes the discussion includes and concluding paragraph when a separate conclusion is not provided.

A conclusion clearly states the overall findings of the study and their implications. If your study has a research question or hypothesis, the conclusion must explicitly respond to this.

Tense: Present

An appendix section is often not required, even in many longer studies. An appendix is used when including a large amount of data which may not be necessary to understand the result but might be of interest to some readers.

If the data is reported or discussed within the results or discussion section, that data must be presented in the section where it is first mentioned.

Always check with your subject for the referencing format that is expected. If no specification is made, APA 7th is widely accepted.