MA452 Portfolio Assignment

You will be required to turn in a statistics portfolio on the last day of class (Wed. Apr. 30).

We will be taking a “field trip” to the library for a demonstration on how to access mathematical and statistical resources in the library and online. You will be given time to search for your article at this time.

a.) You must find, read and turn in a critique of a journal article that contains statistical analysis. This example can be from a research journal from an area relating to your work or a different occupation that interests you (a report or study from a trade magazine/journal, medical journal, etc.) or from a statistics research journal. The library has hardcopies of The American Statistician, Statistical Science, as well as access to many more online journals (Journal of the American Statistical Association, Technometrics, etc.) using the JSTOR online database. Other useful databases for mathematics include MathSciNet and Web of Science.

To access JSTOR, go to the Fairfield Library Homepage (http://www.fairfield.edu/x1285.html or use the link from Fairfield University Website). Then click the database link. You can look at all databases appropriate for mathematics by searching by discipline. Probably the most useful are JSTOR, MathSciNet and Web of Science. Select JSTOR from the database list. You can Browse by discipline (Statistics or Math) and then pick a journal. It is particularly useful if you want to search for all articles by a particular topic, say “Statistics and Sports” or “Statistical Process Control” or “Statistical Modules for High School”.

Others statistical journals include Journal of Statistical Education and Chance which you can access online using the link provided by following the Data Sets on my website (http://faculty.fairfield.edu/lmcsweeney). These journals have materials one can use in the classroom.

Once you find an article of interest, you should:

1.) Submit a copy/print out of the article.

2.) Give the reference of the article using proper APA format (http://www.fairfield.edu/lib_APACitations.htm). While math journals in general do not have a standard reference form the APA seems to be the most commonly used form.

3.) Write a brief (1-2 page) summary that includes the type of statistical inference used and an explanation and source of the data used, a description of the analysis and conclusion. You should also critique the article for completeness and accurateness.

For example: Did they leave out any information? Did they use the right test and/or check the assumptions? Was their sample random? Were their figures/tables labeled? Were the figures/tables informative? How was the flow of the article? Did the article make sense? What did you learn? What was confusing? How was the flow of the article?

b.) You must submit two examples of that you have come across in “everyday” life (say from a newspaper or magazine, etc.) that refer or use statistics or probability. Sources of “everyday” examples might include: newspapers (ex: USA Today), news magazines (Newsweek, Time), medical advertisements or documentation about prescription medicines, online polls (Gallup Polls, www.gallup.com), governmental agencies (Census Bureau, Social Security Agency, etc.), the lottery and game shows, etc.

For each example, give the source and describe the data. (Is it numerical/categorical? discrete/continuous? You should also critique the example for completeness and accurateness. (ex: Did they leave out any information? Did they use the correct test and/or check the assumptions? Was their sample random? Were their figures/tables labeled? Were the figures/tables informative? How was the flow of the article? Did the article make sense? What did you learn? What was confusing? How was the flow of the article? etc.) Describe the population, sample, any unknown parameters and statistics.