Here is the detailed instructions for the paper:
Math 115 Elementary Statistics Research Paper:
The purpose of this paper is to have the student find actual applications and/or personal analysis of statistics found outside the
classroom. It should be your own statistical analysis of a personal interest or employment application.
Examples of possible topics can include:
 Your own teacher-approved topic
o Develop and evaluate your own experiment
o Develop your own questionnaire and analyze your data
 Take data from work and statistically analyze it
o Sales by day or month (number or volume)
o Number of times something happens or time between occurrences
 Take an area of interest and analyze it (data can come from the internet – but not the results!)
o Batting averages or QB ratings over time or between/among teams
o Horse racing results; sports records; census data
o Lottery odds and payouts
o Pick an interest of your choice
Descriptive statistics can include (but are not limited to): (You need to pick 2-3 things from this list to use)
 Frequency Distributions
 Frequency Histogram, Frequency Polygon, Relative
Frequency Histogram, Ogive
 Dot Plot, Stem and Leaf Plot
 Standard Deviation
 Probability Distribution, Binomial Distribution
 Normal Distribution, Sampling Distribution of Sample
Means
Statistical tests can include (but are not limited to):
 Simple or binomial probability theory; expected
value
 Confidence intervals – use 90%
 Z- or t- tests (hypothesis testing) – report P-values,
put claim in alternative hypothesis – use
 Correlation analysis
 Regression analysis
Format:
 Introduction (Thesis statement) – a statement of what you intend to support or demonstrate. This section also includes
some background information on your subject and why it is important to study.
o Girls are faster and better at math than boys.
o First basemen hit more homeruns than any other infield position.
 Research Methods and Descriptive Statistics– the procedures you used in the attempt to support your thesis and
description of your data – (probably 2 paragraphs)
o I took 10 short math problems and gave them to 30 female friends and 30 male friends. I collected data on how
fast they completed the problems and how many they got right.
o I gathered data on the number of homeruns hit last season for all the starting first basemen from each baseball
team. I also collected the number of homeruns hit last season by the shortstop, second basemen and third
basemen.
o Use charts and tables to organize and present your data.
o Pick from the descriptive statistics list above and describe your data in different ways.
 Results – Test data or analysis – must include at least confidence interval and a hypothesis test
o Explain what statistical tests you used and explain how your numerical results support/refute your thesis.
o This section should have at least 2 paragraphs, one for each statistic above, and explain clearly in each paragraph
how the results relate to either supporting or refuting your hypothesis. Do not just report test results, discuss the
consequence of the test results.
o Include your calculations for confidence interval(s) and hypothesis testing on a separate piece of paper –
handwritten.
 Conclusion – What does your data tell you?
o Summarize clearly what you learned from your research.
o Discuss how this knowledge can affect the world.
o Discuss how to improve your study including possible issues or confounding variables.
o Make suggestions for further research. (This is different than improving your study!)
 Length – 2-4 pages (not including graphs and charts or the handwritten calculations paper)