MATH309 – StatisticsPortfolio Project Directions and Rubric
This Portfolio Project is worth 28% of your grade
Outcomes
Completing this Assessment will help you to meet the following:
Course Outcomes
• Organize data for analysis in the form of graphs, tables, and frequency distributions.
• Calculate statistical data for measures of central tendency and dispersion.
• Investigate dispersion through normal distributions using range, mean, standard deviation and z scores,
• Collect, organize, and interpret data to perform regression analysis.
• Measure location, variation, probabilities, distributions, and expectations.
• Formulate a hypothesis, test a hypothesis, and interpret the results.
• Draw conclusions and/or make decisions through the application and analysis of mathematical
models using Microsoft Excel.
Institutional Outcomes
• Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning – Follow established methods of inquiry and mathematical reasoning to
form conclusions and make decisions.
Deadline
Deliverable items for the Portfolio Project will be required at different points during the course.
Details for each submission are included below in the Deliverable Descriptions.
Directions
Your bottom line is to develop a five to eight-page research paper using statistical analysis in your
research. You have recently completed your degree at Bryant & Stratton College, and have secured
an entry level professional position with an employer in your field of study. Your employer would
like you to do research and will give you latitude to develop research and find data related to your
field of study. The research must follow the data requirements detailed in the project directions, with
proper documentation for each section detailed in a Word document.
This is an opportunity for you to showcase to your employer your statistical analysis, analyzing,
and synthesis skills using Excel and Word. The results of your research should provide evidence
and persuasion for your employer to act on your research findings within your research paper.
Requirements and Formatting
Your Portfolio Project must be formatted as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
APA formatting
Title Page
Times New Roman or Arial 12-point font
1-inch margins
Page numbers in top right corner
MATH309 – Portfolio Project
Deliverable Descriptions
2
Week 2
• Due by the end of Week 2 at 11:59 pm, ET.
This week you will be starting your research paper. Please submit your research file (Word doc) and
data set (please submit a screen print of your data set) in Blackboard in Week 2. Your Word doc
should be two pages in length (Page 1 – Title Page, Page 2 – Statement of the Problem).
Below are some resources on developing a Statement of the Problem:
Video: How to Write a Specific Problem Statement
ink: The Basics of Writing a Statement of the Problem for Your Research Proposal
Statement of the Problem: Based upon the data found, you must state what is the data about and
what is the intent of examining this data set. You should also answer the following questions:
1. What is the specific topic that you will research?
2. What do you hope to get from examining this data/research topic?
3. How is this related to your major?
4. What makes this data interesting to you to study?
Finding a Valid Data Set: You will need to find valid data for your project. To that end, you want to
select real data from reputable sources that relates to your degree and field of study for your
employer. You may use the provided Appendix A of websites to search for data; however, you are
not limited to using these links provided but can also utilize our Virtual Library to find scholarly
articles or research data, as well as your favorite search engine to find data you would be interested
in studying.
Week 3
•
Due by the end of Week 3 at 11:59 pm, ET.
This week you will be completing the below sections of your research paper as a continuation of your
research paper. Please recall that APA format has a page dedicated to any references, and all
references for the project should be placed there.
Literature Review: In this section of the paper, you will explain the purpose of your research based
on the efforts of other researchers. Using the Virtual Library or Google Scholar to find academic
papers, you should identify at least one study performed by others about your topic. After reading
your selected academic paper, you will summarize what the study is about and what the conclusions
were. Next, you should discuss how your study relates to that previous work in the field.
Below is a video reference on Literature Reviews:
Video: How to Write a Mini Literature Review
Week 4
•
Due by the end of Week 4 at 11:59 pm, ET.
This week you will be completing the below sections of your research paper as a continuation of your
Word document.
MATH309 – Portfolio Project
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Goal Statement: State your research goals and objectives. To note, a goal is an overarching principle
that guides decision making. Objectives are specific, measurable steps that can be taken to meet the
goal. To help you flesh out this section, think of the following questions: What is the end goal you
are hoping this research will show? How do you plan to go about examining this? Are there certain
statistical tests you are planning on using?
Research Questions: List at minimum two research questions you would like the study to answer.
Be sure to identify any statistical variables that you will consider and their potential influence on the
other variables you identify.
Below is a video resource on Research Questions:
Video: Developing a Research Question
Methodology: During the term we studied graphs, tables, frequency distributions, measures of
central tendency and dispersion, normal distributions calculated through range, mean, standard
deviation, and z scores, regression analysis, the measurement of location, variation, probabilities,
distributions, and expectations for formulating and testing a hypothesis and interpreting the results.
For methodology, include the following:
1. Create a hypothesis from your research.
a. Use this video link as a resource: How to Formulate a Hypothesis
2. Explain how you plan to test your hypothesis
3. Identify how you plan to organize your data
4. Identify how you plan to calculate your statistical data
5. Identify how you plan to investigate associated dispersions
6. Explain if you plan to conduct a regression analysis or correlation or t-test, and the
measurements you plan to use
You will be utilizing descriptive analysis and using descriptive statistics within Data Analysis in
Excel (mean, median, standard deviation analysis, minimum, maximum). Depending on your data,
you may also be utilizing some of the following to analyze your data: (a) Correlation (b) Linear
Regression or (c) t-test.
Below are resource videos on these topics:
Correlations with Excel Video: How to Find Correlation in Excel With the Data Analysis Toolpak
Linear Regression with Excel Video: Excel – Simple Linear Regression
T-Test with Excel Video: How to Do a Two Sample T Test Paired Two Sample for Means in Excel
2013
Using Excel for descriptive Statistics Video: Descriptive Statistics in Excel with Data Analysis Toolpak
Week 5
• Due by the end of Week 5 at 11:59 pm, ET.
This week your analysis should be performed in Excel and documented in your research paper.
Data Analysis: Utilizing the data you have found for this project, perform all necessary analysis; this
will include any mean, variance, and standard deviation calculations, as well as any other tests you
identified in your methodology. Based on the data you have found, represent your findings through
the organizational means you identified in your methodology and be sure to include as exhibits all
MATH309 – Portfolio Project
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the statistical computations performed within your Word document and submit your updated
research paper in Blackboard.
Week 6
• Due by the end of Week 6 at 11:59 pm, ET.
Submit your rough draft Word doc of your work to this point in Blackboard.
Week 7: Final Submission to ePortfolio
• Due by the end of Week 7 at 11:59 pm, ET.
This week you will be completing the below sections of your research paper as a continuation of your
research project. In addition to submitting your research paper, please submit your Excel file(s) used
for the Data Analysis in Blackboard by the end of Week 7.
Conclusion: Based on your data, discuss the following in your Word document:
1. Whether your findings confirm or refute your hypothesis
2. The effect of these findings on your goal statement
3. The related answers this data provides to your research question
4. How your findings inform the statement of problem you provide at the beginning.
5. Also, synthesize, analyze, and evaluate your findings in the context of the literature review
you performed.
Reflection: Finally, include a discussion of the project itself within your Word document. Discuss the
following in this reflection:
1. How this project illustrated the importance of statistics in your career and community
2. How these efforts connect to prior courses you have taken and could inform future courses in
your program
3. The process you used to complete the project
4. How this process changed your perspective on some element of your learning
5. How this new approach could help you in future courses.
Incorporate instructor feedback, make any additional corrections, and submit to your ePortfolio.
Upload your Portfolio Project to the Institutional Outcome in your ePortfolio listed below. Use the
following naming convention: MATH309 – Portfolio Project:
•
Quantitative and Scientific Reasoning – Follow established methods of inquiry and
mathematical reasoning to form conclusions and make decisions.
For directions on how to upload your project to your ePortfolio, please see Student Resources in
Blackboard on the navigation pane.
For specific grading information, please refer to the Portfolio Project Grading Rubric
MATH309 – Portfolio Project
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Below you will find an example of the research paper you can use as a template. The example is
based on a Criminal Justice topic.
Criminal Justice
Research Paper Example.docx
Excel file
example.xlsx
MATH309 – Portfolio Project
Appendix A – Suggested Websites for Data Sets
Data.gov: http://data.gov
US Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/data.html
Open Data Network: https://www.opendatanetwork.com/
European Union Open Data Portal: http://open-data.europa.eu/en/data/
Data.gov.uk: http://data.gov.uk/
Canada Open Data: https://open.canada.ca/en
The CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
Healthdata.gov: https://www.healthdata.gov/
UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org/reports
World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en/
Amazon Web Services public datasets: http://aws.amazon.com/datasets
Google Public Data Explorer: https://www.google.com/publicdata/directory
Gapminder: http://www.gapminder.org/data/
National Climatic Data Center: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/quick-links#loc-clim
Dr. John Rasp’s Statistics Website: http://www2.stetson.edu/~jrasp/data.htm
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MATH309 – Portfolio Project
Criteria
Statement of
Problem
10 points
7
Level 4
MATH309 Portfolio Project Grading Rubric
Level 3
Level 2
10 points
Problem is in students’ degree
field, clearly stated, and relates
to the topic.
8 points
Problem is clearly stated
and relates to the topic.
Literature
Review
20 points
10 points
Student locates four or more
sources and objectively
discusses their findings and
relationship to study.
Goal
Statement
5 points
5 points
Goal statement is interesting,
clear, and relates to the topic.
8 points
6 points
Student locates three
Student locates two sources
sources for the literature
for and discusses their
review and discusses their
findings.
findings and relationship to
the study.
4 points
3.5 points
Goal statement is clear and
Goal statement is clear.
relates to the topic.
Research
Questions
10 points
10 points
Provides a series of interesting
research questions and clearly
identifies each of the variables
and their potential influence on
other variables.
Methodology
10 points
10 points
Hypothesis is interesting, plan
to test hypothesis is effective,
data organization is efficient,
plan to calculate statistical data
is effective, plan to investigate
associated dispersions is
effective, regression analysis
plan is effective, and/or the
measurements are appropriate.
8 points
Provides a series of
research questions and
identifies some variables
along with some of their
potential influence on other
variables.
8 points
Hypothesis is effective,
plan to test hypothesis is
provided, data
organization is evident,
plan to calculate statistical
data is presented, plan to
investigate associated
dispersions is indicated,
regression analysis plan is
offered, and/or the
measurements are
provided.
6 points
Problem is clearly stated.
Level 1
0 points
Problem is not clearly
stated.
0 points
Student fails to locate
any sources.
0 points
Goal statement is not
clear.
6 points
Provides some research
questions and identifies a
few variables.
0 points
No research
questions provided
6 points
Hypothesis is ineffective,
plan to test hypothesis is
ineffective, data organization
is ineffective, plan to
calculate statistical data is
ineffective, plan to
investigate associated
dispersions is ineffective,
regression analysis plan is
ineffective, and/or the
measurements are
inappropriate.
0 points
No hypothesis is
provided, there is no
plan to test the
hypothesis, data
organization plan is
not provided,
statistical processes
are not provided, and
no measurements are
offered.
Points
MATH309 – Portfolio Project
40 points
Data Analysis
Data analysis and Excel work
40 points
Conclusion
10 points
Grammar,
Mechanics,
and
Information
Literacy
5 points
Instructor
Comments:
is structured in column format,
answers identified, and
columns labeled, and very
thorough, and appropriate to
the topic. Analysis justifies
and support conclusions.
10 points
Conclusion and Reflection are
interesting, clearly stated,
related to the topic, and
addresses all stated questions
in the supplied assignment
prompt.
5 points
Few, if any, grammatical or
mechanical errors. All
supplied data and sources are
appropriate and properly
documented in APA format.
8
32 points
Data analysis and Excel
work is good and
reasonably complete.
Conclusions are consistent
with analysis.
28 points
Analysis is rudimentary at
best. Conclusions are
present but not well
supported by the analysis.
0 points
Analysis is
inappropriate or
missing. Conclusions
are invalid or
missing.
8 points
Conclusion and Reflection
are clear, mostly relates to
the topic, and addresses
most stated questions in
the supplied assignment
prompt.
6 points
Conclusion and Reflection
are somewhat clear,
somewhat relates to the
topic, and addresses some of
the stated questions in the
supplied assignment prompt.
4 points
Some grammatical and
mechanical errors. Some
supplied data and sources
are appropriate and
properly documented in
APA format.
3.5 points
Many grammatical and
mechanical errors. Most
supplied data is not
appropriate and is not
properly documented in
APA format.
0 points
Conclusion and
Reflection are
unclear, does not
relate to the topic,
and addresses few if
any of the stated
questions in the
supplied assignment
prompt.
0 points
Grammatical and
mechanical errors
seriously inhibit the
project’s
effectiveness. Nearly
all or all of the
supplied data is
inappropriate and
and is not properly
documented in APA
format.
Total Points:
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