Introduction
The Statistical Project
Competition (SPC) for Secondary School Students has been an annual event
of the Hong Kong Statistical Society (HKSS) since 1986/87. This
year is the 24th round of the SPC.
The key objectives of the competition are in three folds:
- To promote the interest of secondary school
students in research methods, statistics and
statistical techniques;
- To encourage students to understand
the local
community in a scientific and
objective manner through the
proper use of
statistics; and
- To
promote a sense of
civic awareness.
The deadline for submission of entries is
12
February 2010.
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The
Competition
All students attending Secondary 3 to 7, or at equivalent educational levels,
in local schools are eligible to enter. The SPC is divided into two Sections,
namely, Junior Section for Secondary 3 to 5 students and Senior Section for
Secondary 6 and 7 students. Students may enter as individual participants or as
members of a team. The number of team members is restricted to a maximum of six.
There is no limit on the number of participating individuals or teams from each
school. Please refer to the "Rules and
Regulations" for details.
In carrying out the project, participants are
expected to pay attention to the following points:
i) Theme of the study
The theme of study should be related to areas
such as Hong Kong's social characteristics (e.g.
housing, education, social welfare and environmental
protection) or economic characteristics (e.g.
external trade and structural changes of the
economy). Participants may
consider making reference to major concerns to
members of the public (such as those released by the
media) in determining the theme of study.
ii) Selection of data sets
Participants should select data relevant to their
theme of study for analysis. Major data sources are
restricted to official statistics found in
publications of the Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region. Participants may make
reference to the publication “Catalogue of
Statistical Products and Services” published by the
Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) or visit the
C&SD website (http://www.censtatd.gov.hk) to identify appropriate government
statistical publications or data. Participants may
also make use of data sets found in other
publications as supplementary data sources.
Participants are not allowed to use data
obtained from self-conducted surveys for the purpose
of the project.
(Although sample surveys are commonly used in
collecting statistical data on social and economic
affairs, the proper conduct of all the stages of a
sample survey requires theoretical knowledge,
experience and substantial resources. Unreliable or
biased results may be obtained from sample surveys
due to improper design or inadequacy in
implementation; and these results may not only be
meaningless but actually misleading and harmful. The
Society wishes to avoid, as far as possible, this
unsatisfactory situation.)
iii) Analysis and interpretation of data sets and
presentation of results
Participants should thoroughly study and analyse
the data sets selected. They are encouraged to
conduct simple data analysis and statistical
reasoning and, as far as possible, to avoid
sophisticated statistical methods.
Participants should fully present the facts and
information behind the figures. The results of the
analysis should be properly presented, using summary
statistics or graphical displays as appropriate.
Discussions, arguments and findings should be based
mainly on the analysis of data presented.
iv) Preparation of report
The project should be submitted in the form of a
report. The title of the report should reflect the
chosen theme. In the report, the topic of the study
should be properly introduced, results of the
analysis clearly stated and conclusions drawn
summarised. Please refer to the
section "Major Steps of Preparing a Statistical
Project" of the
leaflet of the
competition
The report should be handwritten or typewritten
in either Chinese or English. The report should
comprise no more than 20 pages of A4 size paper,
including all appendices.
Data sources and other relevant references should
be mentioned in footnotes or in the bibliography.
Submitted reports will not be returned.
v) Originality of the study and project report
The study and compilation of the project report
should be carried out by the participants
themselves.
Teachers may give guidance and advice on
identification of study theme and data analysis.
However, they should not participate in the actual
study work or the preparation of project report.
Plagiarism in whatever manner
will
form the basis for disqualification.
The adjudication panel will comprise professionals
working in the field of statistics, including academics
from post-secondary institutions and statisticians
/ research managers from
the Census and Statistics Department. The projects will
be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
a)
Appropriate use of descriptive statistics and
statistical analysis/reasoning;
b) Sound
interpretation of data and analyses;
c) Clear
and neat presentation of findings;
d) Good
grasp of the theme of study;
e) Use of
relevant and adequate data sets; and
f)
Fluency of language.
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Organising
Committee
The organising committee for the 2009/10 SPC is as follows:
|
Chairman
|
Dr Billy LI, Census and Statistics Department
|
|
Treasurer
|
Ms Alvina KWAN, Hong Kong Police Force
|
| Secretary |
Miss Carly LAI, Census and Statistics Department |
|
Chief
Adjudicator
|
Dr LI Leong-kwan, Hong Kong Polytechnic
University
|
|
Publicity
Sub-committee
|
Ms Kitty CHAN,
Census and Statistics Department |
|
Seminar
Sub-committee
|
Miss Denise YEUNG, Census and Statistics Department
|
|
Prize-giving
Ceremony Sub-committee
|
Miss Pauline Tsang, Census and Statistics Department
|
|
Adjudication
Sub-committee
|
Mr Peter
IP, Security
Bureau |
| Executive Committee members |
Mr
Keith PANG, Census and Statistics Department |
| |
Mr
CHAN Sau-tang, Education Bureau |
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Sponsorship
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Patrons
The patrons of the 2009/10 SPC are:
|
|
Mr
FUNG Hing-wang, JP |
Commissioner for Census and
Statistics |
|
|
Dr
CHAN Ka-ki |
Deputy
Secretary for Education |
Top Enquiries
For enquiries, please contact:
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This page
is updated in
May, 2010 |
2009/10 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students
