An Evaluation of College Students’ Perceptions of Statisticians
Department
School of Data Science and Analytics
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Abstract
The widely used Draw a Scientist Test was revised to focus on statistics and 110 Elementary Statistics students were asked to draw a statistician. In addition, to better understand students’ drawings and have some relative comparison, 173 College Algebra students were asked to draw a mathematician. A detailed analysis of students’ images and students’ demographic information was conducted using descriptive statistics, categorical data analysis, logistic regressions, and hierarchical cluster analysis. Results showed that students tend to perceive statisticians and mathematicians as primarily White and male. However, female students were more likely than male students to draw a female statistician and mathematician. Two themed clusters emerged from the hierarchical cluster analysis for both the math and statistics students. We discuss the implications of the results for teaching and future research.
Journal Title
Journal of Statistics and Data Science Education
Journal ISSN
2693-9169
Volume
30
Issue
2
First Page
138
Last Page
153
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1080/26939169.2022.2058655