In this course, you will complete three projects: two written projects and a final project for which you will prepare an oral presentation.
Written projects
The two written projects are given below. A "style guide" to how these projects should be organized and how points will be assigned is available here.
Project 1. Due April 4.
Project 2. Due April 25.
Final project
Your final project for this class consists of analyzing a data set of your choosing using methods that we have discussed in this course. You have essentially free reign to choose a data set and research question; as far as grading is concerned, the focus of the project is on the proper application of statistical methods, not the perceived scientific merit of the research question.
You will give a 15-minute presentation on your data and your analysis of it. These presentations will take place Thursday, May 2, in MDS 221 (our regular classroom) from 9:30-11:30. Roughly speaking, you should think about allocating time in the following manner:
- 5 minutes for an introduction into the nature of the data, how it was collected, and the question(s) of interest
- 5 minutes for describing your model and how you came up with it, probably accompanied by some exploratory graphs and descriptive statistics.
- 5 minutes to describe your results and conclusions.
You will have 15 minutes to speak; plan accordingly. There will be a few minutes for questions after each talk. Your grade will be based on the following:
- 30% Reasonable and appropriate choices made in analyzing the data
- 25% Insightful description of the research question and conclusions
- 25% Quality of presentation: interesting, easy to follow, slides and organization were clear, table and graphs were readable
- 10% Answering questions
- 10% Asking questions: you must ask at least one question during the question and answer portion of the presentations
Try to avoid these errors. In addition to the talk, please send me your slides in a .pdf format (this will help with grading).
If you have any questions on the project or whether what you have in mind is feasible and/or suitable, please let me know.
Please keep the following questions in mind as you prepare your presentation and report (some questions may not apply to certain types of projects):
- What is the main question I am trying to answer?
- How was the data collected/gathered/sampled?
- Are there any confounding relationships present?
- Are there any interactions present?
- Is your model reasonable? What assumptions is it making?
- What are the limitations of my analysis (assumptions which may not hold, limitations of the data, etc.)?