MTH 2310 Case

MTH 2310 Case
Study
OBJECTIVES: By completing this case study, you
should be able to demonstrate an understanding of and proficiency with the
statistical concepts and techniques covered in Chapters 1 through 3. Moreover,
you should be able to effectively communicate in writing a description of the
data set as well as your insights.
EXPECTATIONS:
·
You may work alone or in a group with no less
than 2 members and no more than 4 members. Also, be sure the names of all group
members are included on the report submitted.
·
This case study should take approximately 3-4
hours to complete.
·
You will write a final report summarizing your
findings and containing your analysis.
Submitting a report that is plagiarized, in part or in whole, is
considered a violation of the Northwood University Academic Integrity policy.
The consequence for plagiarizing will be a 0 on the case study and a report of
the incident will be submitted to the Academic Dean.
·
Your final report should be clear and
understandable with a professional appearance.
Use complete sentences as well as correct grammar and spelling.
·
The data set you are working on is titled ch2Activity1.mtw
in the case study section of your MTH 2310 course shell on blackboard. Minitab
will be the recommended statistical software of choice.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
You have decided to become engaged in your community and
volunteer with a philanthropic organization. After researching different
opportunities, you decide to donate your time and talent to an organization
dedicated to raising funds and awareness for paralyzed veterans. While meeting
with the director of the organization, she discovers you are currently in a
Statistics course and asks you to be involved in a data analysis project with
the goal of developing a better understanding of the donor base. She informs
you that team members have just completed collecting data from a sample of 1200
individuals who have made donations either in the current campaign or in
previous campaigns. She asks you to help
them better understand the data. During your conversation, you jot down the
following questions she would like you to explore:
·
How would
you describe a typical donor? What are the attributes of the donors in the
sample?
·
What
percentage of donors in the sample are female?
·
Out of all
donors, what was the average donation to the current campaign? Out of those who
made a donation to the current campaign, what was the average donation?
·
Do people
in the sample who give more often tend to make smaller gifts on average?
·
Are there
any variables that are associated with how much money an individual donated
during the current campaign? Which variable has the strongest association with
how much money an individual donated during the current campaign? How would you
predict the amount of money donated during the current campaign using this
variable? How reliable is this prediction?
·
What advice
do you have for the organization? Share any insights you gleaned from your
investigation of the data.
INSTRUCTIONS
In order to answer the director’s questions, follow the
steps below:
Step 1: Explore
Begin by exploring the data. Create
graphs and tables. Calculate summary statistics. Your goal is to understand the
data set so that you will be able to describe it. Not everything you investigate, calculate
or create in this step will make it into your final report. You want to
find interesting features and patterns so that you can describe the sample,
though in the process you will come across many irrelevant things. The more
time you invest in this exploratory step, the more equipped you will be to
efficiently complete the next two steps.
Step 2: Analyze
Once you have an understanding of
the variable and any relationships between the variables, begin to answer the
director’s questions. Determine which statistics, displays (charts/graphs), and
methods are relevant and appropriate. Be precise and rigorous. Be
sure to interpret your conclusions and advice in a way that is specific to the
context but understandable to someone who may not be familiar with the
underlying statistical methods.
Step 3: Report
In your final report, tell a story.
As with the stories you enjoyed as a child (and may still enjoy), make sure
your story is engaging, is relevant and includes pictures that illustrate your
findings. Be sure your report is professionally formatted and grammatically
correct, using complete sentences and paragraphs. The report does not need to
be very lengthy, as long as it answers the director’s questions in substantive
and accurate manner. Include the names of all group members who contributed on
the report. If a group member’s name is not on the report, he or she
will not receive credit for the assignment.
AN OUTSTANDING REPORT WILL:
1.
Include
only relevant information. It will be tempting to include every possible
statistic you can calculate and every graph you can create. Include only those items that help you tell
your story and illustrate a point.
2.
Answer
the questions asked. It is perfectly acceptable to be concise in your
answers, as long as your answers are accurate and valid.
3.
Tell a
story in a cohesive manner which stands on its own. This is different from
a homework assignment, and as such your report should be a professional
document that one can read and understand without any previous knowledge about
the data set or the questions asked. Avoid treating it as a homework
assignment, where one might write, “#1. The answer is ______. #2. The answer is
_____….” Rather, strive to create a comprehensive summary of your findings
that includes complete sentences which flow naturally in paragraphs and use
correct grammar and spelling. The report should be formatted cleanly in a way
that is aesthetically pleasing and can be read and understood quickly.