Final Paper: Research Study

Student will write a report (APA format) describing a research study in their area of study. This report will include the introduction, participants/sampling method, procedures, data analysis, and results/conclusions. The most important part of the Final Project is that you demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between a research question or purpose, the variables of interest (including the correct identification of the independent and dependent variables), the type of analysis (and associated statistical hypothesis statements), the type of data that is produced, and finally the correct interpretation of what rejecting or accepting the null hypothesis means in the context of your study.  Please keep in mind that the meaning of rejecting the null hypothesis is directly related to the statistical hypothesis statements that you set up in the beginning of your study (and this determines the inferences you draw from your data).  Also don’t forget that the null and alternative hypothesis statements are standard statements based on the type of analysis that you are conducting.  Your papers need to demonstrate that you understand that all of these pieces tie together in a systematic and purposeful way.

I recommend that you keep your final project “simple” as opposed to complex with several variables. You are not graded on the creativity of your design. In fact, often times, the more “creative” you are, the more likely you introduce error into your design.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please see the attached documents for project details and expectations, Please also see Final Project Rubric in the attachmed files. PLEASE READ THE 2 ATTACHMENTS. Thank you.

STAT500
Final Project

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Due Date: Day 5 Week 7
Total Points: 150 points (see scoring rubric)

Description
Students will write a report (APA format) describing a research study they
design in their area of study. This report will include the introduction,
participants/sampling method, procedures, data analysis (using one of the
statistical tests covered in this class), and results/conclusions. This should be
your own research study that you design. This is not an evaluation of
published research. YOU CANNOT USE ONE OF THE STUDIES THAT YOU
ALREADY PRESENTED IN THE WEEKS 5 – 7 FORUM.

NOTE: You are NOT required to collect data or run the analysis. Based on your
understanding of your research question, make-up numbers that would be
appropriate for your study. These numbers should make sense in the context of
your research, however.

Requirements:
Report – maximum of five pages, double-space. Be sure to include a
cover page, abstract and reference list (these 3 pages do not count as three of
the five pages). You must use APA for the report. For an example, see
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/ . I recommend that you have
no more than two direct quotes in your paper. You must submit your project to
Turnitin (see page 2).

Components of the Report:
Introduction: Description of the study including the purpose and
importance of the research question being asked. What is your null hypothesis?
What is your research or alternative hypothesis? Your introduction should include
at least two resources. These resources MUST be from peer-reviewed journals.
You must use other resources and correctly cite (such as our text) when
describing statistical concepts.
Participants/Sampling Method: Describe the sample collected for the
study, as well as the sampling method. How were your participants selected?
Who is your population of interest? If you did a survey, how many will you survey
to ensure your target sample size? How did you come up with that number?
What do you expect your response rate to be? What was your sample size?
How representative is the sample of the population under study?

Procedures: How were the data collected? Was a survey or questionnaire
used to collect data? What are the independent and dependent variables? How
are the variables defined and measured? Are the variables nominal, ordinal,
interval, or ratio measurement scales? Are the data collected in a way that
avoids bias? What is your selected alpha level?
Data Analysis: What statistical test was used to analyze the data?
Describe the statistical test. What are the requirements? Did you meet those
requirements? Describe why your selected method was appropriate to answer

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/18/

STAT500
Final Project

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your research question. Make up a test statistic value. Given that value, do you
reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis? Is your p < .05 or p > .05 (assuming
alpha = .05)?
Results & Discussion: Did your analysis answer your research question?
Explain. What are the practical implications of your results?
References: All references should be included in APA format.

STAT500
Final Project

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Steps for Turnitin:

1. Submit your final project to Turnitin by clicking on ‘View/Complete’ under
‘Final Project in the Learning Hub. Follow the instructions to upload.
Turnitin will generate an Originality Report for your work. Please note, it
may take up to 20+ minutes for it to complete the review. You can log out
and come back later, if you like. If you wait until the last minute to submit,
you may experience greater delays in receiving your originality report.

2. Review your Originality Report and evaluate your work. At the MBA level,
we are aiming for an index number from Turnitin.com between 25-30%.
That means that 70-75% or your written work is in your own words. To
earn the max of 10 points on the final project for Turnitin, your
Originality Report must not exceed 30%.

3. Once you have finalized your final project, upload your final project. You
must upload a Word document in Blackboard to receive credit for the
final project.

Final Project Rubric

/ 25 Introduction

/ 5 Purpose

/ 5 Importance of research

/ 10 Null and research/alternative hypothesis

/ 5

2 Peer-Reviewed resources (Note: other resources used to summarize
statistical concepts (e.g., Triola) must be used but do not count as

peer-reviewed resources)

/ 25 Participants/Sampling Method

/ 5 Description of sample

/ 10 Sampling method and why that method was appropriate

/ 5 Population of interest/representativeness of sample

/ 5 Sample size/rationale behind sample size

/ 25 Procedures

/ 5 How will data be collected – was a survey or questionnaire used?

/ 10 Independent and dependent variables defined/how measured

/ 5
Level of measurement of
variables

/ 5 Alpha level

/ 30 Data Analysis

/ 10 Correct statistical test to answer research question and description of test

/ 10

Rational behind selection of statistical test / why was this statistical test

appropriate to answer your research question

/ 10 p value < or > alpha level; reject or fail to reject null hypothesis

/ 15 Results and Discussion

/ 10

Correct interpretation of statistical test (Conclusion based on whether

or not the null hypothesis was rejected)

/ 5 Implications

/ 20 Overall

/ 10 Readability of paper

/ 10 APA format

/ 10 Turnitin

/ 10 At least 70% original

/ 150 Total