Knowledge and Technique in Statistical Problem‐Solving

Summaries English Subjects’ knowledge and technique in statistical problem‐solving, as well as their ability to detect their own problem‐solving errors, were studied. Twenty subjects were asked to solve two statistical problems, and then to explain their solutions to the experimenter. Finally, each subject was asked successively more detailed questions about his/her solution, particularly in reference to its erroneous parts. The results showed that subjects tended to describe rather than explain their solutions. Subjects eliminated three errors (4%) when accounting for their solutions and another 20 errors (24%) in the following interview. About one‐third of all errors were analysed as being due to deficiencies in subjects’ problem‐solving techniques. For 62% of the errors where subjects showed knowledge deficiencies, there were deficiencies in propositional knowledge, i.e. in subjects’ understanding of statistical concepts and their interrelations. The results showed that misunderstandings of concepts an...