2 Data and questions

The data sets you will meet in this section are very different from each other, both in structure and character. By the time you reach the end of the course, you will have carried out a preliminary investigation of each, identified important questions about them and made a good deal of progress with some of the answers. As you work through the course developing statistical expertise, several of these data sets will be revisited and different questions addressed.

There are seven data sets here. You do not need to study them in great detail at this early stage. You should spend just long enough to see how they are presented and to think about the questions that arise. We shall be looking at all of them in greater detail as this course proceeds. However, if you think you have identified something interesting or unusual about any one of them, make a note of your idea for later in the course.