> **DRAFT** — under teacher review. # Explaining vs Describing Your Data Collection The Hamilton and Alexandra College · Year 12 · 2026 The jump from 7–8 to 9–10 on Indicator 1 (Data Collection) comes down to a single word in the rubric: **"explains"** instead of **"describes"**. Every year, students hit 7–8 and can't understand why — it is almost always this. > [!TIP] > Read your `data-collection-plan.md` and circle every sentence that contains the word *"because"*. If there are fewer than three, you are *describing*, not *explaining* — and you will cap at 7–8 regardless of how thorough the plan is. --- ## The rubric in plain language | Band | What the rubric actually says | What that means in practice | |---|---|---| | **7–8** | *Describes how the data collected will be used to determine user characteristics and the technical environment* | You say **what** the data is for. "I used interviews to find out what features users want." | | **9–10** | *Explains the use of the selected data collection methods* | You say **why** this method was the right choice for this kind of data. "I chose interviews over surveys because I needed qualitative insight into workflows that users couldn't easily articulate in a questionnaire." | The word "explains" requires a **reason** — not just a statement. --- ## Side-by-side: same plan, two different bands The scenario: a student whose project is a school assignment tracker. They used interviews and a survey. ### 7–8 version (describing) > I used an interview with my client to find out what features they wanted in the assignment tracker. I also used a survey to ask students which subjects gave them the most homework. These helped me determine the requirements for the system. **What's missing:** There is no reason given for *why* an interview was chosen over, say, a survey. There is no reason given for *why* a survey was used for students rather than interviewing them. The student is describing what happened, not explaining the decision. ### 9–10 version (explaining) > I chose an interview for my initial data collection because my client — a teacher — needed to articulate complex workflow preferences that a survey's fixed-choice responses couldn't capture. A face-to-face conversation allowed me to follow up on unexpected answers in real time. I then chose a survey for the broader student group because I needed **countable data** — specifically, which subjects generated the highest homework load — and a survey's closed-ended questions give me numbers I can rank. Interviewing 30 students would have been impractical in the available time, and quantitative data served the purpose better here. **What's there:** Each method has a **reason** tied to the *type of data needed* and the *practical constraints*. The student is not just listing methods — they are justifying each one against the alternatives they did not choose. --- ## The formula for an "explaining" sentence ::: success > I chose **[method]** over **[alternative method]** because I needed **[type of data / depth / scale]**, and **[method]** allows me to **[specific advantage]**. Write one of these for **each** of your three or more data collection methods. If you can't complete the sentence, you do not yet know why you chose that method — and the examiner will ask. ::: --- ::: danger **Common traps** - **"I used interviews because they are good for qualitative data."** — Still describing (a general property of interviews), not explaining your specific choice. Add: *why did this project need qualitative data at this stage?* - **"I chose three methods to get a variety of data."** — *"Variety"* is not a reason. Name what each method adds that the others cannot. - **"I used surveys because they are easy to send out."** — Convenience is not a justification the rubric rewards. Reframe: *a survey allowed me to reach all 80 students in the year level simultaneously, which an interview schedule could not achieve within the one-week collection window.* ::: --- ::: info **Why VCAA cares** The C2-1 validation is a **presentation** — the examiner will ask follow-up questions. A student who has only described their methods will struggle to answer *"Why didn't you just use a survey for everything?"*. A student who has explained their choices has already answered that question in their own plan. Practise saying your explanations *out loud* before the validation. If you stumble, rewrite. The rubric rewards understanding, not recall. ::: --- ## See also - C02 Resources: [external reading and videos](/sd/Resources/C02-Resources) --- ← Back to [VCE Software Development Hub](/sd/VCE%20Software%20Development%20Hub)