Requirements for Project 2

The purpose of project 2 is to use confidence intervals and hypothesis testing to support or show lack of support for a research project. You must first decide what you are interested in researching then design your study and collect your data. Next analyze your data to see what it tells you and whether it supports your hypothesis.

Below is a checklist if items that must be addressed for Project 2.

A description of the sampling technique that was made. Any technique may be used for this project, but you must explain how the data was collected and the data must represent a sample and not a census. If the census data is available, then this is not an acceptable project. You must conduct a comparison study either with two independent or two dependent variables. The variables must be quantitative and subtractable. The sample sizes must both be greater than 30.
A list of the summary statistics and an interpretation of each. This can be found your spreadsheet program. Emphasize the statistics for the difference. Make sure you interpret these in the context of the survey rather than just list the definitions. Pay special attention to the standard error, as it is the newly learned statistic for this project. Without including comments about the standard error throughout the paper, you cannot receive an "A". See below for a video on the standard error and its influence on confidence intervals and hypothesis testing.
Video on the Standard Error
A confidence interval for the difference and its interpretations. Be sure to give the reason for choosing the confidence level and what it means. This should be a highlight of your project, so elaborate on it fully. Be sure to explain what new information is revealed from this confidence interval and explain what new decisions will be made by people after seeing this confidence interval. Explain what the level of significance is. It is not enough to just state that there is a 95% chance the population mean difference lies in the interval. You must explain the ramifications of the population mean difference not lying in the interval after the new decisions are made. Do not make this part read like the answer a homework problem.
A hypothesis test for the difference and its interpretations. Be sure to state the null and alternative hypothesis and the motivation for the alternative hypothesis. Also include the repercussions of a Type 1 and a Type 2 Error before you begin talking about the hypothesis test. These repercussions will drive what you use for the level of significance. Explain your reasoning for the selection of the level of significance based on these repercussions. Then find the P-value and interpret it. What decisions will be made based on the results of your hypothesis test. After looking at the P-value, is there reason to conduct a new study? If so explain why and decide on your new sample size. If not, explain why. Do not make this part read like the answer to a homework problem.
What assumptions did you make in finding your confidence interval and P-value? Do not get confused between assumptions and conclusions based on the Central Limit Theorem.
A discussion of why your topic and results are important. This should be intermingled throughout your entire paper, not just in the introduction and conclusion.
A discussion of how further studies could be done in order to delve deeper into the topic.

Grading will be based on completeness, mathematical accuracy, proper use of statistical terminology, and your ability to communicate the results. All statistics must be computer generated. The paper should be typed, double spaced, and have 12 point font. The Writing Center is an excellent source to get assistance on your writing and the MSC is a great place to go for statistics assistance. If you send your instructor your draft at least 48 hours before the project is due, your instructor will give you suggestions on what changes and additions you need to make in order to improve your grade.

Rubric for Project 2

You will receive the following grade if your project is as described:

High "A": The project goes above and beyond what was asked of you. You have clearly and accurately addressed each of the bulleted points described in the project instructions and have also included additional statistical analyses relating to the topic. Your paper contains no errors (both grammatical and interpretive). The paper clearly demonstrates your mastery of all of the statistical concepts related to the project. All relevant computer charts and readouts are included in the paper. The paper is well written and includes an introduction and conclusion. This paper contains valuable research is on its way to being published.

Low "A": You have clearly and accurately addressed each of the bulleted points described in the project instructions. You paper contains few errors (both grammatical and interpretive) with the errors all minor. The paper clearly demonstrates that you understand all of the statistical concepts related to the project. All relevant computer charts and readouts are included in the paper. The paper is well written and includes an introduction and conclusion. This paper contains valuable research and with a few edits is promising for publication.

High "B": You have clearly and accurately addressed each of the bulleted points described in the project instructions. Your paper contains few errors (both grammatical and interpretive) with at most one moderate error. The paper clearly demonstrates that you understand most of the statistical concepts related to the project. Most relevant computer charts and readouts are included in the paper. The paper includes an introduction and conclusion, but proofreading the paper would have helped make it more readable. The content is not necessarily remarkable, but the interpretations are generally sound

Low "B": You have clearly and accurately addressed most of the bulleted points described in the project instructions. Your paper contains some errors (both grammatical and interpretive) including some moderate errors. The paper clearly demonstrates that you understand most of the statistical concepts related to the project, but also shows that your are confused about (or have left out) one of two of the key concepts. Most relevant computer charts and readouts are included in the paper. The paper may be in need of better organization and your topic may not be very creative or original.

High "C": You have a muddled idea of the bulleted points described in the project instructions and have left out a few of them. At best, your paper reads more like the answer to a homework problem than a fully researched project. Your paper contains many errors (both grammatical and interpretive) including at least one major error. The paper clearly demonstrates that your are confused about (or have left out) at least two of the key concepts. Some of the relevant charts and readouts may be left out and interpretations may be missing. The paper is in need of better organization. Your paper is not even close to the standards for research.

Low "C": You have a muddled idea of the bulleted points described in the project instructions and have left out a few of them. Your paper contains many errors (both grammatical and interpretive) including at least one major error. The paper clearly demonstrates that your are confused about (or have left out) many of the key concepts. Some of the relevant charts and readouts may be left out and interpretations may be missing. Your paper reads like a poorly done homework problem and it looks like you were in too much of a hurry to explain your research and read the bulleted list if items to be included.

Below a "C": You have clearly demonstrated that you do not understand the concepts learned in this class. You probably made no real effort to address all of the items in the list. You need to think about spending much more time working on future projects and get help from your instructor or your tutor. You have a very long way to go before you will be ready to conduct research that requires the use of elementary statistics.

Student Learning Outcomes Addressed in this Project:

1. Design and implement an unbiased study that will produce sound statistical results.

2. Generate and interpret statistics and graphs from data that arise from surveys and experiments.

4. Apply confidence intervals and test hypotheses to make conclusions about data that come from practical applications.