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Statistics Inquiry Project (SIP)The purpose of the Statistics Inquiry project is to deepen the following skills:· Critical Thinking Skills – to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information.· Communication Skills – to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication.· Empirical and Quantitative Skills – to include the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions.· Community Awareness – to include awareness of potential relationships with community partners in order to meet one or more community needs.The SIP provides each student the opportunity to apply newfound statistical knowledge in a real-life scenario that could potentially benefit a community. The project is composed of the following components: descriptive draft, final draft, personal reflections (discussion board), and group journal.Types of GroupsEach student will join, or be added to, a group from a list provided in Canvas. Your instructor will determine the optimal group size for your section, ranging between 5 and 10. There are different types of groups; each type is described below, along with an example. Once groups are set, each group will decide on their own topic.· Linear Correlation Group: Investigate linear correlation between two quantitative variables with a random sample of at least 20 individuals. Basic Example: Measure heights and weights of third-graders. Determine if a linear correlation exists between the two variables. If so, determine a linear model to represent the relationship. Then perform a statistical hypothesis test of the response variable.· Qualitative Experiment Group: Investigate the qualitative effect of a particular “treatment” among a random sample of at least 50 individuals. Example: Provide subjects potentially influential propaganda about a political candidate, and then ask the subjects whether they favor the candidate. (Alternate design: Randomly assign 100 individuals to one of two groups. Provide negative propaganda about an idea to individuals in group #1. Provide unrelated, innocuous statements to individuals in group #2. Re-ask both groups the original question. Compare favorable proportions.)· Qualitative Survey Group: Conduct a survey of at least 50 randomly selected individuals to estimate the proportion of a qualitative variable, such as an opinion or consumer preference poll. Example: Ask residents whether they think the governor is doing a good job. Use the sample data to estimate the proportion of local residents who think the governor is doing a good job. One could obtain demographic data from the sampled individuals as well for comparison.· Quantitative Experiment Group: Conduct an experiment with at least 20 individuals in order to analyze the mean of a quantitative variable. Basic Example: Randomly assign 20 teenagers to one of two groups. Measure the beginning and ending heart rate of each teen after hopping 50 feet: Teens in Group #1 hop on one foot, while teens in Group #2 hop on both feet. Analyze change in mean heart rate.· Quantitative Survey Group: Conduct a survey of at least 50 randomly selected individuals to estimate the mean of a quantitative variable. Example: Ask UTA students how many hours of sleep they got last night (or on a typical weeknight). Use the sample data to estimate the mean amount of sleep a UTA student gets on a typical weeknight. One could obtain demographic information as well for comparison.Five RolesThe students within each group will decide which role each student will fill. Depending on group size, some roles will be shared by two students.· Project Manager: Oversees every aspect of the SIP, including writing survey questions and the overall experimental design. They will function as the primary liaison between the group and their instructor. They will edit and submit the SIP Descriptive Draft.· Community Diplomat: Interacts directly with community study subjects from which they will collect the data for the group. They are responsible for the “Abstract” and “Appendix” portions of the SIP Descriptive Draft. They will also lead the SIP Presentation to the class.· Information Organizer: Researches the group’s topic to provide background information. They will assist Community Diplomats with data collection and record data in a spreadsheet. They are responsible for the “Introduction” and “References” portions of the SIP Descriptive Draft.· Data Analyst: Summarizes the data with appropriate numerical summaries and graphs. The task involves use of technologies such as Microsoft Excel or StatCrunch. They are responsible for writing the “Methods” portion of the SIP Descriptive Draft.· Group Scribe: Records group decisions and reflections. They will coordinate with the Project Manager to finalize the research topic, write survey questions and overall experimental design. They are responsible for posting the group’s two assignments in the “Group Journal” in Canvas.The StatisticsThere exist two main statistical summary opportunities within the project. The first one involves descriptive statistics, for which your group will gather, summarize, and display summaries of data obtained from some sector of the community. The other involves inferential statistics, whereby every student will analyze the data and test appropriate hypotheses about the represented population. Each group will submit a descriptive draft in Canvas; each student will submit a written, final draft to communicate findings and conclusions in Canvas. The drafts must be completed and uploaded as Microsoft Word documents. Canvas utilizes a plagiarism detection program called UniCheck. Graphs or other displays should be included in the Word document.Part I: Descriptive Draft (Descriptive Statistics)Each group will choose a topic of interest and collect data by conducting a survey or performing a simple experiment. The sample size for a survey should be at least 50; the sample size for experiments, at least 20. Each group will submit a descriptive draft to portray the data that was collected, explain the variable or variables being summarized and displayed, and why that variable was chosen. Organization of the descriptive draft should be as follows: (The Project Template is included on the final page of these instructions.)· Introduction: One or two paragraphs introducing and detailing the project topic, how inquiry(ies) were conducted, and the relevance of the group’s project to a well-defined community. Include any national statistics that support the importance of the issue or that will be used for comparison to the data. This section should end with a one-sentence purpose statement and primary research question(s).· Method: Two or three paragraphs containing the details of the group’s study, a description of the research objective(s)/hypothesis(es), type of study, participants, variables measured, and sampling technique. Numerical summaries and graphs of the data should be embedded throughout this section, along with the descriptions.· Provide at least 3 different numerical summaries and displays of the data, as appropriate for the chosen topic and variable(s). Examples may include mean, median, standard deviation, 5-number summary, linear correlation coefficient, and/or linear regression equation; pie chart, Pareto chart, frequency/relative frequency distribution, histogram, stem-and-leaf plot, and/or scatter plot.· Chapter 1 of the textbook provides helpful information about population parameters, sample statistics, sampling methods, and bias. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 provide helpful definitions, instructions and examples for summarizing and displaying both qualitative and quantitative data.Part II: Final Draft (includes Inferential Statistics)Each student will submit a final draft that answers a specific question or questions about a population defined by interest. Inferential statistics should include the following points: (The Project Template is included on the final page of these instructions.)· Assumptions about the population, sampling distribution, or other facets of the investigation· Clear hypotheses (e.g., null and alternative hypotheses) about one or more qualitative or quantitative variables of a well-defined population· Findings: Analytical summaries such as confidence interval and/or P-value, including a proper interpretation· Findings: Speculation upon the meaningfulness of results, as well as the limits and/or consequences of any statistical inferences· Chapters 4, 9 and 10 of our e-text provide helpful definitions, instructions and examples for completing Part II, such as testing for linear correlation (chapter 4), interpreting confidence intervals (chapter 9), or formulating and interpreting hypothesis tests (chapter 10).Students in the same SIP group will be using the same data. As such, each student in the same group may start with the same basic template, but each student must write her/his own Findings and Conclusions. Each student will submit their final draft in Canvas as a Microsoft Word document.Grading Criteria for the Project and Final ReportFace-to-face sections: Each group will present their project to the class during a lab session. While managers and diplomats may lead the presentation, all members of the group must be present.Online sections: Project managers and diplomats will elect a member to present their project to classmates during a designated webcast. Alternatively, a recording of the presentation may be submitted for playback during a webcast with instructor permission.Project ItemsDESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS DRAFT 501) EXPLANATION (20)2) INTERPRETATION (20)3) COMMUNICATION/STRUCTURE (10)PRESENTATION PARTICIPATION 10FINAL DRAFT 301) DESIGN (12)2) ANALYSIS (12)3) ROUGH DRAFT AND PEER REVIEWS (6)REFLECTIONS AND GROUP JOURNALS 10Grading Criteria1) Explanation: State the topical inquiry clearly and thoroughly so that a reader understands the variable of interest being explored. Define clearly the population of interest and the reasons why the group wants to investigate the topic statistically. A reader should understand the motivation driving the inquiry. Cite clearly any other references.2) Interpretation/Representation: Provide accurate descriptions and statistical summaries of data. Include appropriate inferences based on the data. Tables or graphs should be included, as applicable. Be mindful to address needs of the community, as appropriate, with the statistical summaries.3) Communication and Structure: Statistical summaries and inferences should be organized, formatted neatly, and presented clearly. The writer should communicate to a community partner, and to readers in general, a cohesive story about one (or more) characteristics of a population. Avoid errors by using language that communicates the group’s meaning and purpose. Proper spelling and grammar are considered within this category.4) Design: Address the elements of statistical methods such as sampling technique, potential bias(es), and null and alternative hypotheses used. Identify assumptions made and/or conditions that need to be satisfied, regarding the population of interest, sample size needed, prior or historical parameter values, and the validity of, or confidence in, the conclusion(s) drawn.5) Application/Analysis: Make a meaningful conclusion(s) regarding the population and variable(s) for which analysis is provided. Address the validity of the group’s conclusions, such as comparison to a critical value, level of confidence or interpreting a P-value, and any limitations of the analysis. Include reasons for further inquiry, as applicable, to learn more about the associated community.Managing DataGroups are encouraged to use software technology such as StatCrunch, Excel, Minitab, SPSS, etc., to manage data, create displays and complete inferential statistics. If using StatCrunch, it may be accessed using the steps below.1) Log in to Canvas, select our course, and click Modules.2) Scroll down to QUICK LINKS and click STATCRUNCH.3) Click the hyperlink to Visit the StatCrunch website (this logs you into StatCrunch).4) Click ‘Open StatCrunch’ on the top ribbon.5) Our e-text provides step-by-step instructions for StatCrunch on all topics we address in class. Instructions are provided at the end of each section for which the topic applies.References and Resources· Cite all sources used, such as a website, journal article or book, etc. Copying and pasting another’s work should be avoided. UniCheck detects plagiarism, whether from published authors and websites, or from work submitted by students.· A few helpful resources for statistics and current studies for reference, if needed: 1) Pew Research Center http://www.pewresearch.org/ 2) Gallup http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx 3) National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/ 4) U.S. Census https://www.census.gov/en.html 5) Data.Gov https://www.data.gov/ 6) World Bank Open Data https://data.worldbank.org/ 7) Bureau of Labor Statistics https://stats.bls.gov/Group Name:Group Members:Title(Choose a title that clearly and succinctly tells the reader the focus of the study.)AbstractOne-paragraph summary of the major aspects of the SIP that includes: 1) the overall purpose of the inquiry and the research problem(s) you investigated; 2) the basic design of the study; 3) major findings or trends found as a result of your analysis; and, 4) a brief summary of your interpretations and conclusions.IntroductionOne or two paragraphs introducing and detailing your project topic, how you conducted your inquiry(ies), and the relevance of your project to a well-defined community. Include any national statistics that support the importance of your issue or that you will use as a comparison to your data here. This section should end with a one-sentence purpose statement and your research question(s).MethodSeveral (at least 2-3) paragraphs that contain the details of your study, a description of your research objective(s)/hypothesis(es), type of study, participants, variables measured, and sampling technique. Numerical summaries and graphs of your data should be embedded throughout this section along with descriptions. See Part I: Descriptive Draft (Descriptive Statistics) of SIP-Assignment Instructions document.FindingsTwo to three paragraphs addressing inferential analyses and conclusions drawn about specific variables within a well-defined population (make clear null and alternative hypotheses). Identify assumptions made about your population, the sampling distribution of your sample statistic, or any other facet of your investigation, and the limits of your conclusions. Include a P-value and/or a confidence interval as needed and interpret it. Use visuals as necessary. See Part II: Final Draft (Inferential Statistics) of SIP-Assignment Instructions document.ConclusionOne paragraph summary regarding the overall meaningfulness of the statistical inquiry and the lessons learned about project development and completion.ReferencesCite any sources used to develop background information. Cite any source of national, state, or local statistics used as a null hypothesis.AppendixRaw data from the experiment or survey study must be included here. In addition, if an online survey was launched, a live link must be provided. Or, if live interviews or simple experiments were conducted, provide details such as dates, times, places, and names of group members involved.
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