Resources
E-textbook
Teachers, educators, or those generally interested in some upskilling in statistics may find this easy-to-read
e-textbook helpful to contextualise and develop a conceptual understanding of statistics... and inspire investigations
and analyses. This textbook is used to support introductory undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Statistics
and Data Science (written for the Business context, but applicable more broadly!).
Click on the cover for more information.
Example Projects
Sample of project ideas
- compare bacteria levels between finger and toe nails (using petri dishes), or on toothbrushes left in different areas of a bathroom;
- assess whether music affects concentration or reactions (using mobile phone apps to test participants' skill levels);
- collect data on body part lengths in an attempt to predict one's height (forensic anthropology);
- how do various brands of cereals compare in terms of nutrition?
- how does electricity or water usage vary with numbers of members in a household?
- conduct blind taste-tests of Pepsi/Coke or Lift/Solo or Brand A/B for people's preferences;
- test whether Vitamin C levels differ between organic and non-organic oranges;
- do some educational or memory techniques have greater success than others when learning a new language?
- conduct an in-class survey to find out what your fellow students think, depending also on the support students have.
Video resources
On the right of this page are our short video guides which explain the competition.
Below are videos from experts explaining how statistics works in practice to benefit industry, business and society.

Mentoring Programme
We may be able to connect schools with mentors who will attend your school (in person or remotely).
A mentor might provide insight into the practice of statistics and data science through examples of its
application, and help to facilitate the commencement of your investigative projects.
Our mentors may be pre-service teachers; professional society members; university academics;
retired school teachers; undergraduate or postgraduate university students; scientists and statisticians.
It is recommended that you contact the CSIRO's
STEM Professionals in Schools Program early to see if they may be able to provide a mentor to attend your school.
Additional resources
What students, teachers and other professionals are saying about the NSPC
"2015 was the first year I've had students participate in the SSAI Poster competition and I've found it to be a rewarding experience.
So often in the arrangement of the mathematics curriculum and ordering of textbooks, statistics is taught and practised in segregated pieces, and it's
not that often that students, especially in the Junior year of high school, get a chance to put it all together in a meaningful way. I think my class
found it a valuable learning experience being able to go through the whole process of Research Question > Data Collection > Data Organisation and
Presentation > Data Analysis > Conclusions."
Mathematics and Film, Television & New Media Teacher, Queensland