What does interpreting data mean?
It could mean either… You want information on the cleaning ability of a new soap. You clean a soiled test patch. The washed patch is not perfect but how do you interpret the data presented by this washed test patch? You compare the test patch to a similar test patch washed with a standard soap. You have tracked a bobcat using a GPS enabled collar. You plot the bobcat’s movements. What do these movements mean? By analyzing the movements you determine that a particular valley the bobcat returns to every three days contains lots of rabbits. This verifies the hypothesis that the bobcat only needs meat every three days – not daily. Interpreting data is a process whereby the results of data collection are analyzed for their significance in answering the hypothesis being studied.
