Midterm Project

• Deadline: 11:59 PM on Friday, 07/10/2020.

Goals

• Able to critically examine a statistical study.
• Able to identify the study’s basic components: research question, population, sample, variable of interest, sampling method, study design, etc.
• Able to identify the internal and external validity threats of the study.

Instructions

• Step 1: Find a statistical study on pewresearch.org that you’re interested in AND satisfies the following requirements:
• It’s a inferential study (NOT a descriptive study): either observational or experimental study is accepted.
• If you have question about whether the study you selected satisfies the requirements, post the question to Piazza (preferably) or send me an email!
• Step 2: Quickly read (skim) the study!
• Step 3: Read the study again! In details this time!
• It’s very important that you read the study multiple times! Please don’t skip these steps!
• Step 4: Identify the following components of the study:
• Step 5: Focusing on the research question and the experimental/observational study to identify the following:
• Is this claim based on an observational study or an experiment? And which type?
• If an experiment, how strong is the internal validity of the study? (Any threats to a causal chain?)
• If an observational study, what confounders could exist, and were they explored well in the data?
• How strong is the external validity of the study (do the conclusions generalize to a wider population, setting, and time?)
• Have the authors cherry-picked data to support their claim? (Graphs and tables are clearly and honestly represented, all pertinent information is available, if a drug study all side effects are reported!)
• Does the argument stem from an objective data source, or simply anecdotal evidence?
• Might these authors have any confirmation bias? (Already biased toward a certain conclusion? Who sponsored or funded this study?)
• And as a final consideration… am I ready to make an important decision from this data? What further research remains to be done?
• Step 6: Fill the Project Report template with your answers to the above questions.

Submission

• Submit your report to the submission box on Compass by 11:59 PM on Friday, 07/10/2020.
• Late submission is allowed up to 11:59 PM on Sunday, 07/12/2020. 20% late penalty will be applied on late submissions.
• Note: Accepting file format: .docx (Microsoft Word file) or .pdf (PDF file).

Grading rubric can be found on Compass, on the assignment submission page.

Final Project

• Deadline: 11:59 PM on Friday, 08/07/2020.

Goals

• Able to critically examine a result of a scientific experiment.
• Able to identify the study’s basic components: research question, population, sample, variable of interest, sampling method, study design, etc.
• Able to identify the hypothesis test result, possible type 1 and type 2 errors of the study.

Technology Needed For This Project

• A computer with webcam or a phone with camera or any other devices that can record a video.

Instructions

• Step 1: Find a scientific study that you’re interested in AND satisfies the following requirements:
• It’s a experimental study.
• The study includes at least 1 hypothesis test.
• Preferably, the study comes from a well-known, respectable journal/newspaper.
• If you have question about whether the study you selected satisfies the requirements, post the question to Piazza (preferably) or send me an email!
• Step 2: Quickly read (skim) the study!
• Step 3: Read the study again! In details this time!
• It’s very important that you read the study multiple times! Please don’t skip these steps!
• Step 4: Identify the following components of the study:
• Step 5: Focusing on one hypothesis test in the study to identify the following:
• What is the null hypothesis?
• What is the alternative hypothesis?
• What is the significance level the test was conducted at?
• What is the conclusion of the test? Reject/Fail to reject $$H_0$$?
• What is the possible type 1 error? What is the possible type 2 error? Which error has larger consequences in this study?
• Step 6: Film a video of YOU addressing the answers to questions in Step 4 and Step 5 above. Video length must be between 5 - 10 minutes.

Submission

• Submit your video to the submission box on Compass by 11:59 PM on Friday, 08/07/2020.
• You must be present and visible in the video.
• Submit the link of your study in the comment box on the submission page. Failure to do so might result in the video not being graded.
• Video length must not be longer than 10 minutes.
• In your video, you must answer all of the following topics/questions:
• Research question of interest
• Population
• Sample
• Sampling method
• Study design
• What is the null hypothesis?
• What is the alternative hypothesis?
• What is the significance level the test was conducted at?
• What is the conclusion of the test? Reject/Fail to reject $$H_0$$?
• What is the possible type 1 error? What is the possible type 2 error? Which error has larger consequences in this study?
• Late submission is allowed up to 11:59 PM on Saturday, 08/08/2020. 20% late penalty will be applied on late submissions.
• Note: Accepting file format: .mp4, .mov, .wmv or .mkv.