How to Create a Unique Statistics Project that Students will Enjoy: Part II Dr. Jennifer Bready Associate Professor of Mathematics Mount Saint Mary College

Mount Saint Mary College Small liberal arts college Located in the Hudson Valley, NY Large education, business, and nursing programs (including Master’s programs for each)

MTH 207 Elementary Statistics Required for: Business majors Nursing majors Psychology majors Recommended for science majors SPSS is integrated throughout the course

Final Project 30% of overall grade No final exam Students involved from day one Goal of course: for students to be able to apply and understand statistics

Six Step Process Decide on a topic. Write the questions. Create the survey. Gather the data. Compile the data. Analyze the results.

Example Timeline 15 Week Semester Week 1: Topic Ideas Week 2: Submit questions Week 3: Write survey and get student feedback Weeks 4-6: Give students the surveys to gather the data

Example Timeline Weeks 7-8/9: Compile data and return to students Weeks 9-13/14: Students write paper, due one week before end of semester Weeks 14-15: Grade and return to students

Step 4: Gathering the Data 25% of project grade Each student required to complete 6-10 surveys Students must set up the variables in SPSS and enter the data Students turn in: Data on disk Printout of data view Printout of variable view Completed surveys

Step 5: Compiling the Data Cut and paste data from disks to one large SPSS data set (240-400 surveys) Run frequencies and make corrections; identify surveys with problems Grade students based on variable set up (measure and labels) and any mistakes in data entry Place data on network drive Time consuming!

Step 6: Writing the Paper Students may work alone or in pairs (must decide in advance and let me know in writing) Must follow explicit instructions Freedom to choose the variables they wish to analyze

Step 6: Writing the Paper No SPSS printout other than graphs and contingency tables Focus is on interpretation Students must be able to apply appropriate statistical tests for different types of variables

Paper Requirements Introduction – 25 points Data Analysis – 50 points Summary – 15 points Format – 10 points Optional creativity – bonus points!

Introduction Purpose Population Procedure for gathering sample Whether they believe the sample is random Demographics of the sample, giving frequencies and relative frequencies One other reference Identify sources of bias Decide if survey can be generalized to the population

Data Analysis Choose at least five different variables to analyze two must be quantitative Use appropriate measure of central tendency and variation Create two contingency tables and analyze tables must be included

Data Analysis Report at least one significant correlation and interpret Answer specific t-test questions, or create and answer one of their own Include two different graphs on different variables Can be in data analysis or introduction Must explain graphs

Summary Write a conclusion summarizing your results Include suggestions or recommendations for further study

Format Typed, double spaced No SPSS printout of correlation, t-tests, or small frequency tables Must be spell-checked and proofread Creative papers awarded additional points

Ready for some creative examples? Why allow creativity? Students become more involved Makes reading them a little less monotonous  Students are told creativity cannot make up for poor statistics! Ready for some creative examples?

For more information… Dr. Jennifer Bready Division of Math/CS 330 Powell Ave Newburgh, NY 12550 845-569-3268 bready@msmc.edu