Data Detective · Lesson 1
What Makes a Good Question?
Today you'll learn one of the most important skills in data science: asking the right questions!
Welcome, Data Detective! 🔍
Today you'll learn one of the most important skills in data science: asking the right questions! Bad questions give us bad data, but good questions unlock amazing discoveries.
Think about it: if you wanted to know what games your friends like, would you ask "Do you like Minecraft or hate vegetables?" That doesn't make sense, right? Let's discover why!
Activity 1: Survey Detective Challenge
Can you spot what's wrong with these survey questions?
📚 The Five Types of Survey Questions
Every type of question gives us different kinds of data. Here's your detective toolkit:
| Question Type | Example | Best Chart Type | Data Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✅ Yes / No | "Do you have a pet?" | Pie Chart | Binary |
| 🔘 Multiple Choice | "Favorite subject?" | Bar Chart / Pie Chart | Categorical |
| ☑️ Check All | "Which devices do you use?" | Multiple Bar Charts | Multi-select |
| ⭐ Likert Scale | "Rate your love of reading (1–5)" | Line Graph | Ordinal |
| 🔢 Numeric | "Hours of screen time per day?" | Histogram / Scatter Plot | Continuous |
Activity 2: Practice Survey — Classroom Preferences
Try out each question type with this sample survey:
💡 Detective's Golden Rule
Ask one clear thing at a time — define your words and define your scale. A good question has only one honest answer.
🎯 Ready for Real Survey Topics?
Now that you know how to write good questions, explore exciting survey topics to investigate!
🏆 Complete This Lesson!
Finished exploring? Mark this lesson complete to track your progress.