Final Project

Near the end of the semester, you will complete a final project for MATH 115. This is a group project (groups of 3–4).

You will need to choose a research question that you can address by analyzing two proportions, two independent means, or paired means. Your research question cannot be one that could be answered using the class survey data.

Choose a question that is academic in nature — one where you can find prior research. Your project can replicate an earlier study or try something new, and it can address a small part of a bigger question.

You need to collect or use your own data for this project. These can be from an observational study or experiment that you design specifically for this project, or from one of your other labs or classes, or a research project that you are involved in. Choose something that interests you! The project ideas page has topics, apps for running tests, and more project ideas. If your data involves human subjects, read the guidelines for working with people and consult your professor on the ethical use of the data.

All of your analysis, including figure creation, must be done using Jamovi. The AI Use Policy describes how you may and may not use AI on the project.

Your final project will consist of the following, described in more detail below. Submit each one using its submission link on our Moodle page.

Component Due
Proposal Fri 11/6, 11:59 pm
Presentation slides Sun 12/6, 11:59 pm
Presentation In class, Mon 12/7 or Wed 12/9
Written report and data Fri 12/11, 11:59 pm
Group evaluation Mon 12/14, 11:59 pm

Proposal

The proposal should be less than 1 page in length. Submit your proposal as a PDF file.

Your proposal should include the following:

  1. A preliminary title for your project and the names of all of the group members
  2. A brief description of your project, why it is interesting, and the research question that you will address
  3. A detailed description of how you plan to collect the data. If you will collect data with a survey, include your survey questions (they may go on a second page)
  4. A brief description of the statistical analyses you will perform, including data summary, hypothesis testing, and construction of confidence intervals (if appropriate)

Collecting Your Data

  • Your professor must approve your project before you collect any data. This includes checking your survey or experiment questions for appropriateness, clear wording, and information that could identify someone.
  • If you collect data with a Google Form, share the form with your professor and get feedback and approval before you use it.
  • Collect a few more variables than your research question needs — 3 or 4 in all is usually enough. Other variables can help explain your results or point to possible confounding variables. Keep the survey short enough that people finish it. The class survey questions are good examples of clear wording.
  • Record numerical data as numbers (for example, hours of sleep as 6.5), not as ranges like “6–7 hours.”
  • Collect enough data: 30 cases is the minimum, and 50 or more is typical.
  • You are graded on how well you analyze your data and report the results, not on whether your p-value turns out small or large. Your project needs to be good enough to work; it does not need to be perfect.

Written Report

The report should have a cover page with just the title, an abstract (150 words or less), and authors’ names. The report itself (not including the cover page) should be no more than 3 pages long, including figures, tables, etc. Use Arial 11 pt font. Submit the project report as a PDF file. Your raw data must be submitted as a separate CSV file, using the same Moodle submission link as the paper.

The report itself should be organized into the following sections, using these section titles:

  1. Introduction — details of the research question(s) you addressed, putting your work into context (e.g., within a larger body of research)
  2. Study Design and Data — a description of your study design, as well as the data you collected (related to your research question(s)). Include appropriate graphical displays of your data
  3. Statistical Analysis and Results — the statistical procedure(s) or model(s) used, any hypothesis tests performed, and relevant confidence intervals calculated
  4. Conclusions — the conclusion(s) you came to, described in language that is as jargon-free as possible. Mention also the extent to which generalization of your conclusions would be warranted and whether you can infer a cause-and-effect relationship. Highlight any possible limitations of your study, and suggest improvements or extensions that could be made in a future project
  5. References — a list of at least 3 references from high-quality sources that are also cited in your report

Presentation

You will present your research to the rest of the class in the last week of classes, on Mon 12/7 or Wed 12/9. Presentations should be 5–7 minutes long. Create the presentation in either Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides. Submit your slides as a PDF file by Sun 12/6 — this deadline is the same for every group, including groups presenting on Wednesday.

Your presentation will briefly highlight the major sections of the paper, including

  1. Title and authors
  2. Introduction
  3. Study design and exploratory data analysis
  4. Statistical procedures/models and results
  5. Conclusions

Group Evaluation

Each group member is expected to contribute substantially to each element of the project, including participating in presenting the results in class. At the end of the project, each group member is required to submit a group evaluation form. You will evaluate your own contribution to the project along with the individual contributions of each of your group members.

Each group member should understand and be able to explain all parts of the project, not just the parts they worked on. You may discuss ideas with classmates outside your group, but the work submitted must be your group’s own. See the collaboration policy.

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