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.
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
3
February 2012.
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The
Competition
All
students attending Secondary 1 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 1 to 3 students and Senior Section for
Secondary 4 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.
Any one student can submit one entry only but 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
Junior Section
Participants of the Junior Section must select one
out of the following five themes as the theme of
study:
Senior Section
Participants of the Senior Section can set the theme
of study by themselves without restriction.
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).
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 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 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 12 sheets (i.e. 24 pages) of
A4 size paper, including all front/back covers,
contents and appendices.
Participants must submit both the
hand-written/printed copy and an electronic copy of
the report. The electronic copy must be stored as a
Microsoft Word document or a PDF file in a CD-ROM.
Data sources and other relevant references should
be mentioned in footnotes or in the bibliography.
Submitted reports will not be returned. Participants
can make a copy of the report before submission.
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 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.
The
adjudication will comprise two stages. Firstly, the adjudicators will examine
each project according to the above mentioned criteria. A number of projects in
each Section will be shortlisted for the second stage. In the second stage,
participants of shortlisted projects will be invited to attend an interview to
discuss their projects with the adjudicators. After the assessment by the
adjudicators, the winning entries in each Section will be chosen.
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Organising
Committee
The organising committee for the 2011/12 SPC is as follows:
| Chairperson |
Ms Alvina KWAN, Financial Services and
Treasury Bureau |
|
Advisor |
Mr NG Siu Kai, Education Bureau |
|
Treasurer |
Mr Justin MA, Census and Statistics Department |
|
Secretary |
Miss Pauline TSANG, Education Bureau |
|
Chief Adjudicator |
Dr
LI Leong-kwan, Polytechnic University of Hong Kong |
|
Publicity
Sub-committee |
Miss Olivia OR, Census and Statistics
Department |
|
Seminar
Sub-committee |
Miss Suki LAU, Census and Statistics Department |
|
Prize-giving
Ceremony Sub-committee |
Mr Chris LEUNG, Education Bureau
|
|
Adjudication
Sub-committee |
Mr Jimmy LIN,
Census and Statistics Department |
|
Executive Committee members |
Mr TSANG Tat-shing, Census and Statistics
Department |
| |
Mr
CHAN Sau-tang, Education Bureau |
2011/12 Statistical Project Competition for Secondary School Students
