Pros & Cons for Using Web data

PRO: The Web contains very current data.

Ex: Up to the minute sports scores at The Sports Network

CON: Sites that are here today might be gone tommorrow.

PRO: Sites such as JSE and DASL provide good hints to teachers on ways to use data.

CON: Some sites might give too much guidance to students on ways to analyze the data.

PRO: Work with large rich datasets without data entry hassles.

CON: May miss experience with genereating and entering own data.

PRO: Raw data can be downloaded electronically, then efficiently converted for analysis.

CON: Varied file formats can require tedious adjustment before data are suitable.

PRO: Easy to move electronically between linked sites.

CON: May be easier to flip through hardcopy pages than browse a source such as Statistical Abstract of the United States on-line.

PRO: May find more meaningful real data on the Web .

CON: May miss the sense of ownership with using their own data.

PRO: Take advantage of computing infrastructure being built at many schools.

CON: Some schools offer no convenient Web access - especially for students.

PRO: Easy Web access may encourage wider range of project ideas.

CON: Popular Web datasets might be repeatedly selected by multiple students.