Transnumerative processes and data analysis. A case study

Abstract

Transnumeration, as a type of statistical reasoning, allows the nature of statistical data to be assessed from different perspectives, the most suitable types of analysis according to the purposes of a study, as well as the representations that communicate the results of an investigation to different users and its many implications. This paper presents the results of an interview conducted with a postgraduate student in the area of Education, to identify the different transnumeration strategies used and their meaning, in the performance of different statistical analyses. An adaptation of the task-centered interview technique was made, which was based on the analysis plan defined by the student for her thesis work, and from this plan, with the help of the interviewer, different transnumerative alternatives were explored. Among the most relevant results, we have that the different transnumerative techniques used by the student interviewed allowed her to reevaluate the nature of the variables considered in her analysis and the possibilities of transforming them. The interviewee also had the opportunity to review and reinforce the original criteria of her analysis plan and the underlying statistical principles. It is concluded that the statistical reasoning implemented through transnumeration must be flexible and allow the exploration of different possibilities of analysis and representation, which assist the potentialization of the results of an investigation. The importance of transnumerative thinking is highlighted as a factor that allows to link the different stages of the research cycle conceptually and operationally.