Probability and Statistics Research

Project Purpose: Design a research study where you apply the statistical methods that you learned and discussed this past semester.

First: Select a topic. Your topic must be approved by your instructor (2 points)

You will want to select a large topic where you can gather background information.

Topic Ideas:
• Weight loss among children
• Weight loss among adults
• Increase SAT scores among high school students
• Stress management among US workers
• The time students spend on social media
• Do certain subpopulations get mammograms more frequently than others?
• Smoking cessation programs
• Contraceptive use
• Blood pressure reduction
• Depression among US citizens
• Cholesterol management among women
• Cholesterol management among men
• Diabetes management among children
• Diabetes management among adult
• Driving and texting
• Suicide prevention
• Alcohol abuse among teenagers.
• Pollution and the environment
• Animals in captivity vs the wild
• Alternative medicine to controlling allergies.
• Faith healing and depression

Project Requirements:

Introduction (15 points)
• State your topic
• Choose a sample and a population
• We discussed different sampling techniques. Choose a sampling technique, and how you will apply it to your research.
• Will this be an observational or experimental study? How?
o Discuss the strategies to address this issue. You can create strategies, or you can research other strategies that have been used. You are allowed to replicate another study, but you must state and cite that you are replicating another study. YOU CANNOT COPY SOMEONE ELSE’S RESEARCH. YOU MUST TAILOR IT FOR THIS PROJECT AND ITS REQUIREMENTS.
• What do you hope to achieve?
• How long will this research occur?
• Who are the stakeholders? A stakeholder is someone who has a vested interest in a program/project.
• How will you measure success?
• This should be about one to two paragraphs

Background Information. (15 points)
• You need one to two paragraphs about why this topic is an issue. How have other researchers addressed this issue? How have other researchers succeeded or failed?
o Some of the topics may have a lot of information, so you may want to narrow your focus.
• For the background information, you need to include at least two charts and/or graphs that we discussed this past semester. Copy and paste those charts in this paper and provide citations.
o Provide a paragraph describing and analyzing the data in those charts.
o Discuss why the information presented in those charts is relevant to your research. You have to use charts that we discussed this past semester: pie chart, bar graph, stem plot, frequency table, dot plot, and box plot.
• What will you do different/similar?

Research Methods: (40 points)

(You are required to use the statistical strategies discussed in this class.
• What background information will you need on your research participants?
• What variables will you measure in your study?
o For example, if we are studying weight loss, some variables will include, height, weight BMI, gender, age.
• Are those variables qualitative or quantitative, discrete or continuous, nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio level or measurement or neither. You can even use a chart to describe the information. I have provided a sample.
• Which measures of center and variation will apply to each variable?
• Variables of interest can include survey questions.

Variable of interest
Qualitative or Quantitative or neither
Continuous or discrete or neither
Measures of Center that will be used
Measures of variation that will be used.

• You must use two additional statistical methods from the list the following list and describe how it applies to your research. Remember each statistical procedure has its own requirements and those requirements must be satisfied.
o Binomial probability distributions
o Central Limit theorem
o Confidence Interval
o Hypothesis testing
• How will you measure success?

Bias (8 points)
• How will you control and reduce bias in your research? Every research is subject to some sort of bias.

Limitations of your research: (5 points)

• Every research will have a set of limitations. Do not feel embarrassed about mentioning the limitations of your research.

Conclusions (5 points)
• What lessons will you learn from this research?
• How will it benefit other researchers?
• What would you improve in the future?

Works Cited Page will be required. (5 points)