4. Assignment: Is There a Difference?

Getting Started

You have come up with a great new idea for a  product and are thinking about starting your own business. Your idea is an automatic pet groomer! We have robotic carpet vacuums, why not one that every six weeks or so bathe, cuts hair, and trim nails for the household pet!

You have solved the technical problems, but are not sure if it is economically feasible. Your analysis suggests that if the average citizen of the nearest major city to you spends at least $ 100 every three months on pet grooming your product will be an enormous success. You have conducted a survey to gather data, but do not know what to do next. In this workshop, you will learn how to create hypotheses for research testing and how to test those hypotheses about the population. Using these methods, you can see if your idea has any potential or not

Upon successful completion of this assignment, you will be able to:

• Make statistical comparisons between data sets.

Background Information

As you were thinking about your hopeful new business, it occurred to you that the nearest city to you may not be the best place, that some other city might be a better place to start this business. So in addition to the data on your nearest city, you also collected data from another larger city in your region. Comparing two or more sets of data is a common task in data analytics. In this workshop, you will learn how to write hypotheses, and also learn how to examine data between two different variables. So using these techniques, you may be able to make an informed decision concerning the viability of your new business opportunity and if one city is better than the other

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
2. Read chapters XI, and XII, and XIII in the online . Watch the videos and powerpoints that go with each chapter.
3. Examine the  database. Pick three of the following research questions:
   1. Is there a relationship between a mothers age and the birth weight of her child?
   2. Is there a relationship between whether a mother smokes or not and the birth weight of her child?
   3. Is the birthweight of babies from white moms different than those from nonwhite moms?
   4. Is there a relationship between the mothers weight gain during pregnancy and the birth weight of her child?
   5. Is there a relationship between the mothers marital status and the birth weight of her child?
   6. Is there a relationship between the mothers age and her marital status?
   7. Is there a relationship between the fathers age and the mothers marital status?
4. Find two published articles dealing with each of your selected questions. Write a one-paragraph summary of what each article says about your research question.
5. Determine the mean, median, mode, standard deviation, and variance as applicable for the variables involved in your study. Provide a graphical analysis for the variables that cannot have numerical statistics calculated.
6. Determine the type of test you will use for each of your research questions and the null and alternative hypothesis for each question.
7. Conduct the appropriate statistical tests at the .05 significance level.
8. Write a short report ( 1 to 2 pages for each research question) that includes the results of your analysis. Present the results and discuss the implications of your findings. Include whatever graphs or statistical output you may have generated in answering these questions along with a short explanation of your analysis. Are your results consistent with the published research on the topic? Why or why not?
9. When you have completed your assignment, submit a copy to your instructor using the Assignment submission page.
10. The assignment is due by the end of the workshop.