07 Jan c) Research question:

Embry MATH211 Module 1 Discussion

Module 1 – Discussion: Data

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The object of the discussions in this course is for you to learn through experience and the collective knowledge of your classmates and instructor. Therefore, participation in discussions is a part of your course grade. The Checklist for Meaningful DiscussionsPreview the documentView in a new window identifies the qualities of an effective post. To view the rubric used for grading that participation, click on the gear icon (Show_Rubric_Gear.jpg) at the top of the page and select “Show Rubric” from the drop-down menu.

Data, Data, and More Datam1_discussion.jpg

The preface to the text starts with the statement, “This is a book about data” (p. xiii). The title of Chapter One is, “Introduction to Data” and the first sentence in the chapter says, “Statistics is the science of data…” (p. 3). Based on that, it seems that a good place to start would be with a discussion about data. What is (or are) data? Section 1.1 in the text answers that question. Section 1.2 then discusses two types of variables, categorical and numerical. Determining whether a variable is categorical or numerical is important because the type of variable is important because the type of variable determines the appropriate statistical techniques to use in studying the variable.

Read

Read through Chapter 1, then review the pictures contained in the examples of Data Collection SystemsPreview the documentView in a new window found in the PDF file. Notice that all of them show ways that you may use data or summaries of data every day— or perhaps ways that your personal data are collected and used by others. They also include both categorical and numerical variables. For example, in the parking garage sign shown in the file, the variable is the number of parking spaces available on each floor of the garage. That would be a numerical variable. One of the pieces of information given on Spokeo.com is the occupation of the person. That would be a categorical variable.

Post

Post three paragraphs to this week’s discussion:

Explain how you use data – or summaries of data – every day. Consider how you provide data for others to use.

Give two specific examples from your daily data, one numerical variable and one categorical variable. Describe the data that would be collected on each (such as the units of measure, integers or decimals, whether there’s a fixed number of categories or free response).

Reflect on how the use of your example data impacts your life/work or that of others.

Your initial post should be made before the end of the fourth day of the module to receive full credit. Return at least once later in the module to comment on two or more classmates’ posts. Do NOT “post and run” – making all three posts in the same visit. You need multiple visits to the Discussions in order to gain multiple perspectives by reading all of the posts and replies.

Embry MATH211 Module 2 Discussion

Module 2 – Discussion: Standard Deviation

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m2_DB.jpgFor this discussion activity, you will use an applet that deals with the standard deviation of a numerical data set.

Be sure that you completed the applet/discussion on Mean vs Median before doing this activity.

Standard Deviation = The standard deviation is a number that measures how far a typical observation is from the mean.

Run Applet

Navigate to the Standard Deviation (Links to an external site.) applet and follow these instructions:

Prepare the applet for use.

Select the “Add point” button and enter a value of 0 in the input box, then select “OK”.

Repeat the above step to enter the value 20.

Select the “Reset” button to remove the data points, but leave the axis between 0 and 20.

Create Set A.

Insert eight data points approximately evenly spaced between 0 and 20.

Record the standard deviation of Set A.

Select the “Reset” button to clear the data.

Create Set B.

Insert all eight data points very close to 10 on the number line.

Record the standard deviation of Set B.

Select the “Reset” button to clear the data.

Create Set C.

Insert four points close to 0 and four points close to 20.

Record the standard deviation of Set C.

Post

Which data set has the lowest standard deviation?

Which has the highest?

Is this what you expected? Why or why not?

Your initial post should be made before the end of the fourth day of the module to receive full credit. Return at least once later in the module to comment on two or more classmates’ posts. Do NOT “post and run” – making all three posts in the same visit. You need multiple visits to the Discussions in order to gain multiple perspectives by reading all of the posts and replies.

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Embry MATH211 Module 3 Discussion

Module 3 – Discussion: Statistical P-Value Study

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Mod 3 Discussion Stat Image.pngIn StatCrunch Assignment 1A, you selected a random sample of 30 StatCrunch U students and then downloaded data on their responses to a survey. Use that file for this discussion activity. You will also need to study the file in Module 3 about Randomization tests.

Suppose you want to compare the amount of student loan debt for males and females at StatCrunch U. The null hypothesis for this problem would be that there is no difference in the mean amounts of student loan debt for males and females and the alternate hypotheses would be that there is a difference in mean amounts of student loan debt.

H0: µ(male) = µ(female)

Ha: µ(male) ? µ(female)

Run StatCrunch

Using the sample you downloaded in StatCrunch Assignment 1A, conduct a randomization test for two means with 3000 randomizations. (Your input menu should be similar to the image.)

Post

Paste the output from your randomization test in the discussion area. For “How-to” instruction go to the StatCrunch Help (Links to an external site.) Website, specifically, Saving, Copying, Printing, and Downloading Results (Links to an external site.). Copy and save the image, then insert your randomization image in the discussion area.

What p-value did you get in your randomization? Explain in the context of the problem what the p-value means.

Do you think the data support the null hypothesis of no difference in mean student loan debt between males and females or the alternate hypothesis that there is a difference? Explain your answer.

Your initial post should be made before the end of the fourth day of the module to receive full credit. Return at least once later in the module to comment on two or more classmates’ posts. Do NOT “post and run” – making all three posts in the same visit. You need multiple visits to the Discussions in order to gain multiple perspectives by reading all of the posts and replies.

Embry MATH211 Module 4 Discussion

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m4_coin_flip.jpg

Probability

This discussion activity will familiarize you with probability using an applet. The applet is a simulation of flipping a fair coin a given number of times and then estimating the probability of getting a head using the relative frequency approximation of probability.

The probability of getting a head or tail on one flip of a fair coin is 0.5 or 50%. The relative frequency approximation of probability says that the probability of an Event A is estimated by dividing the number of times that Event A occurred by the number of times the trial was repeated. For example, if you flip a coin 10 times and get 4 heads, then you could estimate the probability of getting a head as 4 divided by 10 or 0.4.

Run Applet & Reflect

Use the Simulating the probability of a head (with a fair coin) (Links to an external site.) applet and follow steps 1 through 5.

At the top left side of the applet, under “Coin Flipping”, select “5 flips”. After the simulation finishes the 5 flips, select “5 flips” again for a total of 10 flips of the coin. Record the number of heads (given in the box labeled Count) in 10 flips of a coin and the cumulative probability of a head based on the ten flips. (The cumulative probability is given in the box labeled Proportion.) Is the number of heads what you expected in 10 flips?

Now select 5 flips four more times (you will need to wait for each 5 flips to complete before clicking again.) You should now have 30 flips of the coin (see the Total column). Record the number of heads in 30 flips and the cumulative probability of a head based on 30 flips. What is the longest string of consecutive heads or tails that you got in the 30 flips? Do you think that is unusual? (In the Flips box you can use the scroll bar to look at the individual coins to find consecutive heads or tails. You can also select the box labeled “Convergence” to locate consecutive strings. When you flip heads the line rises and when you flip tails the line falls.)

Now select 1000 flips. This should give you 1030 flips of the coin. Record the number of heads and the cumulative probability of a head now.

Select 1000 flips one more time so that you have 2030 flips. Record the number of heads and the cumulative probability of a head now.

“The Law of Large Numbers states that if an experiment with a random outcome is repeated a large number of times, the empirical probability of an event is likely to be close to the true probability. The larger the number of repetitions, the closer together these probabilities are likely to be” (Text, p. 224). Does the coin flipping process you just completed illustrate the Law of Large Numbers? Why or why not?

Post

Share your results and reflections from the five steps of the applet activity.

Your initial post should be made before the end of the fourth day of the module to receive full credit. Return at least once later in the module to comment on two or more classmates’ posts. Do NOT “post and run” – making all three posts in the same visit. You need multiple visits to the Discussions in order to gain multiple perspectives by reading all of the posts and replies.

This topic is closed for comments.

Embry MATH211 Module 5 Discussion

Module 5 – Discussion: Formulating Research Questions

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m5_housing_categories.jpgThis activity is a lead-in to the course project that comes in Modules 8 and 9. You will be asked to do something similar to this in another upcoming discussion and then in the course project at the end of the course.

In a research project, the researcher normally has a research question in mind and then develops a research methodology that includes such things as determining the type of data that will be needed to address the question, how the data will be collected, and how the data will be analyzed. Due to time constraints, you will take a different approach to developing a research question. You will be given data that has already been collected and asked to develop a possible research question from the data.

For this discussion, open the StatCrunch file Housing_Prices_Categorical_Factors. The variables in the file are explained in the file description in StatCrunch. The following file tells you how to enroll in the course StatCrunch Group and retrieve group files. You will need to do that in order to view the Housing Prices file for this discussion activity.

Enrollment InstructionsPreview the documentView in a new window

Look at the description of the variables in the file and the variables themselves and develop a “research question” that might be interesting to explore using this data set. Some examples are:

Is there a difference in average selling price based on whether the house is on the water front or not?

Do new houses sell for more than old houses? NOTE: For something like this, you would have to define what you mean by new and old.

Develop your own research question and post it in the discussion. Be Creative! Don’t use one of the questions above and don’t use one someone else has already posted. Instead, try to find something that might be interesting to you. In addition to posting your question, also tell what method or methods you would use to answer your question (of those studied so far).

You should post your initial response no later than the 4th day of the week. By the end of the week, return to the discussion forum and review your classmates’ postings. Comment on at least two of them.

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Embry MATH211 Module 6 Discussion

Module 6 – Discussion: Population Proportion Hypothesis Test

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View

Introduction to Confidence Interval (YouTube – 6:41) (Links to an external site.)

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Explore

Go to a website for a company or agency that does polling, find the results of a poll they’ve done recently, and give a brief summary of the results. You can copy from their website as long as you tell where you got the info. Possible polling agencies are Gallup, Rasmussen, Zogby, RealClearPolitics, national news organizations, and others. Check other students’ postings before you do this and don’t report on a poll that another student has already done.

Here is an example summary of a poll result reported on a website:

Fewer U.S. adults who have flown in the past year are satisfied with the price they paid for their ticket. In 2007, 65% were satisfied with the price but in late 2015 it is only 51%. (All other satisfaction measures – on time performance, courtesy of attendants, schedules, luggage handling, etc. – were up except a small dip regarding the comfort of seats.) The poll did not address any particular airline but the general perceptions of the flying public. Gallop reported these results (Links to an external site.) on December 23, 2015.

Post

After posting the summary and link to the website, use what you have learned about confidence intervals in the reading and homework to provide the following details for one proportion/percentage reported.

State the confidence interval estimate in two ways:

the upper and lower limits

the sample proportion ± the error term

(don’t forget to include the confidence level)

Describe how the data was collected, including the sample size and dates.

State the meaning of the confidence interval in terms of the specific question in the poll.

Your initial post should be made before the end of the fourth day of the module to receive full credit. Return at least once later in the module to comment on two or more classmates’ posts. Do NOT “post and run” – making all three posts in the same visit. You need multiple visits to the Discussions in order to gain multiple perspectives by reading all of the posts and replies.

Embry MATH211 Module 7 Discussion

Module 7 – Discussion: Formulating Research Questions

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In a research project, the researcher normally has a research question in mind and then develops a research methodology. The methodology includes such things as determining the type of data that will be needed to address the question, how the data will be collected, and how the data will be analyzed. Due to time constraints, you will take a different approach to developing a research question. You will be given data that has already been collected and asked to develop a possible research question from the data.

340ac – Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700; N417WN@LAS;01.03.2005For this discussion activity, open the StatCrunch file, Southwest Airlines Data. The variables are explained within the file description. Use the file is in the course StatCrunch group (Enrollment InstructionsPreview the documentView in a new window)

This discussion is a lead-in to the t-Test Course Project that you will be working on in the next module. You will be asked to do something similar to this activity for your project and also asked to collect and analyze the data. Look at the description of the variables in the file and the variables themselves. Then develop a “research question” that can be answered using a one- or two-sample t-test and confidence interval that might be interesting to explore using this data set. Some examples are:

Is the average delay time longer at Midway than at Dallas?

Is the average taxi time longer at Houston than at Dallas?

Develop your own research question. Be creative! Do not use one of the questions above or the ones your classmates post. Try to find something that might be interesting to you. After you post your question, also indicate the techniques you would use to answer it. For this Discussion Board activity, you don’t need to analyze the data. You only need to develop a research question. You should post it on the discussion board no later than the 4th day of the week. By the end of the week, return to the discussion, review the postings of other students, and comment on at least two of them.

(Image retrieved from flickr: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/46423105@N03/5056601949 (Links to an external site.))

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Embry MATH211 Module 8 Discussion

Module 8 – Discussion and Instructions: t-Test Project and Forum

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You will begin your t-Test Course Project in this module.

The first part of your project involves selecting an appropriate research question and data source. This means you need to select a research question that can be answered using a t-test and selecting a data file, website with appropriate data available, or developing a plan for collecting the data yourself. Normally, another option would be to conduct a survey, but due to the time required to develop a good survey as well as university policies on human subjects research, you won’t do that in this course.

How should you proceed with selecting a topic? Follow this criteria before you pose your research question and data source.

Look at the resources contained in the documents below.

Review the sample projects.

Give serious thought about your own interests.

Most important…Be original!

Although these documents were presented earlier in the course. Here are the links again, in case you did not review them or save them for future reference. The examples file provides the same or similar type of projects that students did at another school. The resources file suggests some websites that can be used to collect data and gives some further examples.

t-Test Project Examples Resources Preview the documentView in a new window

t-test Project ResourcesPreview the documentView in a new window

The project instruction and rubric files are provided below (they too, were initially presented in a previous module). If you have not done so already, download these documents to you computer or memory device to reference.

t-Test Project Instructions and Rubric Preview the documentView in a new window

If you have any questions about the project, post them here. If you can answer your fellow classmates questions, then please do. Your instructor will monitor the forum and answer questions as needed. This is an ungraded discussion.

Embry MATH211 Module 3 Assignment 1

Submit yourStatCrunch Assignment 1by uploading your assignment file that was assigned in Module 2. Your work should demonstrate the results of your random sampling of the data you collected on theStatCrunch Ustudents.

Embry MATH211 Module 4 Assignment 2

Submit yourStatCrunch Assignment 2 by uploading your assignment file. Your work should demonstrate the results and answers for the bootstrapping and randomization assignment.

Embry MATH211 Module 7 Assignment 3

Submit yourStatCrunch Assignment 3by uploading your assignment file. Your work should demonstrate the results of the population proportions work you did with StatCrunch data.

Embry MATH211 Module 9 Project t-Test Project

It will be screen by Turnitin, an anti-plagiarism tool. Turnitin is a cloud software tool that compares your writing with a database of millions of other written works and checks for originality versus plagiarized papers. You will be able to view your originality report after you have submitted your work. However, you will not be permitted to make any changes to your paper.

Important:The project is a course requirement. It is wise to complete the project before the Final Exam.

Embry MATH211 Module 8 Course Project: T-Test Project Plan Research Question and Data Assignment

After completing the previous activity, you should be ready to complete and submit the t-Test Project Plan form to your instructor. To begin the first written part of this project:

Choose a research question that can be addressed using a t-test.
Ensure your research question allows you to collect data to analyze.
Devise a plan to collect your data.
Submit a project plan form to the instructor and obtain approval.
If you have not already, download the t-Test Project Plan document below. You should submit it by the third day of this week.

Your instructor will review your plan and indicate if it is accepted by awarding a “Complete” grade. Your instructor may also give you feedback at this point.

If your plan is rejected you will receive feedback and an “Incomplete” grade. Go to Gradesto review your instructors response. If the proposal is rejected, your instructor will give you the rationale and suggestions so you can revise and resubmit your project plan as quickly as possible.

ProjectPlan:t-Test

Name:

A. Type ofstatistical testyou planto conduct(check one, and giverelevantdetails)

¨1-samplet-test

a) Targetpopulation:

b) Research variable:

c) Research question:

d) Expectedresult:

¨matched pairst-test

a) Targetpopulation(s):

b) Theresearch variable willbe thedifference

betweenand

c) Research question:

d) Expectedresult:

¨2-samplet-test

a) Targetpopulations(2):

b) Research variable:

c) Research question:

d) Expectedresult:

B. Data collection plan(check one,and give relevant details)

¨I will use data from a file. Give name of file and details below.

¨Iwillobtaindata fromawebsite(s). GiveName of website(s), full URLsand details below.

¨Otherdata collection plan:Give specific detailsbelow.

Projectplanis:NOTAcceptedAccepted Date

InstructorInitials