User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
I chose to create a graph to represent the data I collected. It was beneficial that we had created a graph/table for our hypothesis as I learned from that what information I needed to include and I also learned some important lessons about the type of graph to use based on my study design. I had done my hypothesis graph incorrectly so I needed to do some research to figure out the type of graph that I should use. My response variable (birds) is a categorical variable and my predictor variable (temperature) is a continuous variable. Therefore my study design is a logistic regression. Initially I had created a line chart. However, a line chart would suggest that the response variable was continuous. I did some research and in the end I decided that a point graph (called a scatter plot in some journals) was the best way to chart my observations and results. I also had trouble with the legend and knowing what information should be included there. I tried to create it so that if an individual read the chart without knowing any information about my research study they would be able to decipher the results. I think a table would have given more information than I was able to include in the graph such as the times of day that the observations were collected or information on other variables such as cloud cover and wind. However, I chose to create a graph because the visual information included in a figure can often tell a story that words cannot. My results surprised me and suggest that my hypothesis is not true, or rather that the null hypothesis may be correct. I would be interested in doing further research on the subject of bird activity with weather and expand it beyond temperature alone. How much of an affect is cloud cover on bird activity or humidity? Also, do smaller birds have different tolerances to weather than larger birds? Lastly, is bird activity affected by a combination of variables that include temperature but also precipitation, wind, cloud cover, humidity and time of day?
