{"id":20,"date":"2020-07-24T21:14:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-25T03:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/?p=20"},"modified":"2020-07-24T23:29:59","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T05:29:59","slug":"data-analysis-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/2020\/07\/24\/data-analysis-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Analysis Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>UPDATE: As of July 2020, I have <a href=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/science\/data\/data.html\">updated the data analysis tool<\/a> to use some cool newer JavaScript libraries.  My graphing library is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chartjs.org\/\">Chart.js<\/a> (it has some fancy animation options and allows copy\/pasting of generated graphs) and <a href=\"https:\/\/handsontable.com\/\">Handsontable <\/a>(which uses an excel-like grid for inputting data, which also allows copy\/pasting from excel or other spreadsheet programs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da1-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"202\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da1.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/2016\/06\/17\/data-analysis-tool\/da1\/\" class=\"wp-image-202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da1-1024x536.png 1024w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da1-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da1-768x402.png 768w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da1.png 1403w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><a href=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"541\" src=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da2-1024x541.png\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"203\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da2.png\" data-link=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/2016\/06\/17\/data-analysis-tool\/da2\/\" class=\"wp-image-203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da2-1024x541.png 1024w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da2-300x159.png 300w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da2-768x406.png 768w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/da2.png 1396w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption\">Updated Data Analysis tool.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In Modeling Instruction and Advanced Placement science courses, students must be able to analyze data to determine the relationship between two variables.  To make this easier, I created a <a href=\"http:\/\/jasonstark.com\/science\/data\/data.html\">Data Analysis Tool.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve tried a few ways for students to graph data:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Method<\/td><td>Pros<\/td><td>Cons<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Graph Paper<\/td><td>* Requires a firm grasp of scales, slope, and y-intercept<br>* Students gain a better grasp of the meaning of these quantities and where they come from<br>* Flexible \u2014 few limitations<br>* No technology quirks to learn<\/td><td>* Time-consuming<br>* Requires multiple iterations to linearize non-linear relationships<br>* Difficult to test several analysis methods to determine the best fit<br>* Best-fit lines, slopes, and y-intercepts are not as accurate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>TI-84 Calculator<\/td><td>* Can be used on the AP Exam &amp; ACT!<br>* Manual window-setting requires students to consider how they will view their data<br>* Students can create their own best-fit line by writing a linear equation in Y1<br>* OR, it has LinReg capabilities<br>* A bit quicker than graphing by hand<\/td><td>* Data entry, turning stat-plots on, and graphing is not as intuitive as it could\/should be<br>* Regressions are also not very intuitive, and getting the linear fit to display on the graph is another hurdle<br>* Doesn\u2019t handle units at all \u2014 that\u2019s up to the student<br>* No easy way to get a printout of the graph for inclusion in reports<br>* Not all students have this calculator (it&#8217;s expensive)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Vernier LoggerPro<\/td><td>* Quick<br>* Takes care of units, labels, and titles<br>* Easily adjust what is graphed on each axis<br>* Support for force, motion, and other sensors<br>* Linear fit is available with 1 button click<br>* Supports graphing multiple data sets, a secondary y-axis scale, and many advanced features<\/td><td>* Linearizing with calculated columns is somewhat cumbersome; requires quite a few steps<br>* For novices, the large number of features make it difficult to remember the correct steps to get the desired results<br>* Not likely to use this software in other contexts<br>* Not widely available (though the site license is generous)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets<\/td><td>* Powerful and flexible<br>* Supports graphing multiple data sets, secondary y-axis scale, and many advanced features<br>* Likely to be used in college, industry, etc.<br>* Widely available (and for Google Sheets, free)<\/td><td>* Need to set up own data table<br>* New versions of Excel do not label axes by default<br>* Google Sheets graphs lack some features and are not the most intuitive (though I haven\u2019t used them in a couple years so perhaps they\u2019ve improved)<br>* Again, the huge number of features often make it hard to find the desired functions<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To start the year, I always have students graph data using graph paper for a couple weeks.&nbsp; I think students need to be able to do it themselves and understand the basic considerations of choosing scales, deciding what to plot where, and finding slopes and y-intercepts manually before having a device\/computer do it for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past, after students got more comfortable graphing things by hand, I showed them how to use some tools (in the past, this tool has been LoggerPro).&nbsp; But, after having to guide students through the LoggerPro linearization process time and time again for each lab, I wanted to find a better solution.  <a href=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/science\/data\/data.html\">My current version works pretty well<\/a>, but I&#8217;d welcome your feedback. I also have a <a href=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/science\/data\/data2.html\">version with linearization tools hidden<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Version 1.0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In June of 2016, I wrote a quick online data analysis tool (using the graphing capabilities of&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/canvasjs.com\/\">CanvasJS<\/a>).&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/jasonstark.com\/science\/data-old\/data.html\">Check it out here<\/a>.&nbsp; It does most of what I need it to, which is to take a set of data, graph it, allow students to linearize it (graph y vs. x<sup>2<\/sup>, y vs. 1\/x, etc.), and output the best-fit line equation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I also created a <a href=\"http:\/\/jasonstark.com\/science\/data-old\/data2.html\">version with the linearization capabilities hidden<\/a> (to require students to do this manually).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"816\" height=\"539\" src=\"http:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/DataAnalysisSS.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/DataAnalysisSS.png 816w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/DataAnalysisSS-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/DataAnalysisSS-768x507.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 816px) 100vw, 816px\" \/><figcaption>Graphing an inverse squared relationship.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"836\" height=\"573\" src=\"http:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/DataAnalysisSS2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/DataAnalysisSS2.png 836w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/DataAnalysisSS2-300x206.png 300w, https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/DataAnalysisSS2-768x526.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 836px) 100vw, 836px\" \/><figcaption>Graphing Y vs. 1\/X\u00b2 gives a linear relationship.  The equation of the best-fit line is also available.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Improvements I may try to implement in the future:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Data input improvements (arrow keys for navigating)&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;<em><strong>implemented though still has some quirks<\/strong><\/em><\/li><li>Improve linearization interface somehow \u2013 still thinking about this<\/li><li>Display the squared, cubed, or inverse of a column in the data table (?)<\/li><li>Graph multiple data sets simultaneously<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UPDATE: As of July 2020, I have updated the data analysis tool to use some cool newer JavaScript libraries. My graphing library is Chart.js (it has some fancy animation options and allows copy\/pasting of generated&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"excerpt-more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"excerpt-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/2020\/07\/24\/data-analysis-tool\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,19,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-interesting","category-modeling-instruction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":210,"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions\/210"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonstark.com\/website\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}