Description
his is the first component of your course project.
Before rushing out to collect data, it is important to clearly define what you are trying to accomplish and what you are trying to answer from your study. This assignment provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate your ability to define your goals and begin to formulate a data collection strategy to meet those goals.
Using the Initial Survey Design Template [DOC], identify a topic of interest in your personal or professional life. Explain your reasons for selecting the topic and your thoughts about the study design. As you fill out the template, keep in mind that surveys are usually done to answer some sort of question. This topic could be something based on your professional activities or your personal interests. In other words, you get to make the subject of the statistical analysis your own.
Make sure you have watched the Week 1 Project Video. Your instructor walks you through the course project and the template for this assignment:
Address the following in the template:
Describe the topic of your survey.
Explain why the topic is important. (How might the results of the study be used in your personal or professional life?)
Identify and describe the potential variables to be included in data gathering.
Define the population to be studied.
Explain why this is the best population for your study.
When you have completed this assignment, submit it to the assignment area. Before submitting it, refer to the Project: Initial Survey Design rubric to ensure that it meets the grading criteria.
Unformatted Attachment Preview
WEEK 1 PROJECT TEMPLATE AND EXAMPLE
How to use this template:
Class, please leave all parts of this template exactly as they appear. Carefully read the examples
that I have provided below, so that you understand what information to include for each part.
Then, please type your work where you see the words “Please type your work below.” Please
leave all highlights exactly as is.
Refer to the corresponding assignment scoring guide for how your assignment will be scored.
1. What is your chosen topic, and why is it important to your personal or
professional life? How could you specifically use the results you find in some
way in your personal or professional life?
EXAMPLE:
I will be conducting a study about people’s beliefs on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Health and nutrition topics are personally important to me, as I have known many people with
significant food-related challenges and illnesses. The topic of GMOs is controversial and has
many significant implications for people’s health on an international scale. My goals are to find
out information about people’s perspectives on the dangers of GMOs. I would also like to find
out if people have done research on this topic, and if they feel knowledgeable enough to provide
an overview of what exactly it means to genetically alter foods. The results of this study could be
used to develop interest in funding future and more involved studies in the effects of GMOs on
human health.
This section must be one complete paragraph long.
Type your work below.
2. What are potential variables to be included in data gathering, and why are
they appropriate?
First: What are variables?
Variables are pieces of information that will VARY from participant to participant. As defined
by your textbook, “a variable is any item or quantity that can vary or take on different values.
The variables of interest in a statistical study are the items or quantities that the study seeks to
measure” (Bennett, Briggs, & Triola, 2009). Another good definition is the following: “a
variable is an attribute that describes a person, place, thing, or idea” (StatTrek, n.d.).
EXAMPLE:
Some variables that might be included in my study are the following:
1. Age.
2. Gender.
3. Education level.
4. Yearly salary.
These variables are appropriate because I am interested to know if demographic information
plays a role in people’s views on GMOs.
Reference
Bennett, J. O., Briggs, W. L., & Triola, M. F. (2009). Statistical reasoning for everyday life (3rd
ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
StatTrek. (n.d.). What are variables? Retrieved from http://stattrek.com/ap-statistics1/variables.aspx
Please include at least FOUR (4) potential variables and discuss why they
are appropriate. Do not worry—you can change these if you like, but this is to get you started
thinking about what information you will gather.
Type your work below.
3. Explain your specific target population and discuss why it is the best
population to study.
EXAMPLE:
My target population is all American residents residing in any state, ages 18 and up. From this
population, I will select an appropriate SAMPLE to study, since I cannot feasibly survey every
American resident. While ideally I would like to examine the entire world population, that would
be more expensive and complex. Therefore, to begin with, a smaller population is chosen and is
the best one for this study.
This section must be at least 1–2 complete sentences and must very clearly and explicitly define
your target population. Please do not forget to include identifying information such as age range,
gender, and any other specific characteristics that are unique and relevant to identifying your
target population. Remember to review the difference between population and sample.
Population consists of all of the elements of interest, while a sample is a subset of the population
which we focus on in a given study, and then use the results to make inferences about the larger
population. Discuss why this population is appropriate as opposed to other potential populations.
Type your work below.
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