Project III - Big Data Study

Your final self-directed project will be an analysis of your own choosing using the 2019 American Community Survey Data Explorer.

Big Idea

Your goal is to tell a story about our community with data. Strive to develop a theme, goal or guiding idea, this will give your story context, meaning and purpose. Imagine you are communicating your results to the local newspaper or a community blog, or to local politicians or community leaders.

Developing your topics

In the first six weeks, you have already conducted mini-analyses of the ACS in the first five modules. For this project you are given the freedom to explore the data. You might have already started to have additional questions, if so then use this opportunity to go further into the data. (Maybe go back into yout previous reports and see what piques your interest?) Or start fresh, look at your variables - start exploring. The basic premise of the assignment is to use the skills that you have developed in the first four skill developments to do authentic statistical analysis.

Minimum Requirement

Ultilize a slide show medium. Select two primary variables of interest (response variables). Your primary variables need to be at least one numerical variable and one categorical variable. For each response variable you should identify at least 2 explanatory variable (you might find it beneficial to combine levels or filter your explanatory variables). You will probably develop 2 separate analyses (one for each of your response variables). Your results need to include tables, graphics and discussion. I would like everyone to try creating tables and graphics with multiple group by (explanatory) variables.

Include the following;

I. Introduction

Why did you choose this topic? What did you expect to find? Have similar studies been done elsewhere? Why should the reader be interested in your results and continue reading?

II. Summary of Data Analysis Methods

What were your response and explanatory variables? What groups did you compare? What fiters and variable transformations were ultilized.

III. Analysis of Results

Include appropriate numerical and graphical summaries of your data. What relationships did you find? Write narratives explaining what you found in these data. What conclusions can you draw? Make sure all figures and graphs are clearly labeled.

IV. Conclusion

Summarize the results of your study. What did you learn? Did the data behave as you expected? Is there anything you would do differently next time? How might this affect the conclusions of the study? What additional questions might someone choose to investigate in the future to build on your results?

Grading Rubric

I am looking for a well-told story that shows creativity, curiosity and a desire to really dig into the data to uncover and document relationships we would not have known (or expected?) TBA