Assignment: For a final project, you need to either
1. Design an experiment, conduct the experiment, and analyze the data collected.
… or ...
2. Obtain data relevant to an interesting question, and analyze it using methods from class. You
may NOT conduct an analysis that has already been done by others. If you are using data
collected from an online source, you need to clear it with your instructor first.
You may work alone or in groups (no more than 4 people per group). Group projects should be of
higher quality than projects done by individuals. Write up a report of your experiment. You may use
this Word document as a template to write your report, or may write it up in a professional report
format.
Grading will be done using the following rubrick:
Item
Points
Possible Grade
The goals and data sources of the experiment are clearly described. All
experimental procedures (data collection, treatments, etc.) are described
clearly.
10
A correct model is used for the experiment, and is clearly described.
Residuals are appropriate, or comments about residuals are made if they
are not appropriate (and transformations do not correct the problem).
20
Treatments are randomly assigned, or experimental units are randomly
drawn from a population. Details of the randomization scheme are clear.
Blocking is used when appropriate.
Details of the statistical analysis are clear. The correct hypothesis tests are
conducted, and the results of the hypothesis tests are clearly interpreted. 20
SAS code to replicate the entire experiment is uploaded to Canvas. This
code should include all data used, all analyses run, and any code used to
randomize treatment assignment.
The results of the experiment are summarized, and comments are made
about what (if anything) could have been done differently to make the
experiment better.
Something “interesting” is done in the experiment. (Examples: 2-factor
experiments, or including a covariate, or difficult data to collect, etc) 10
STAT 461 Final Project – Designing, Conducting, and Analyzing an Experiment
For this project, you need to design an actual experiment, collect data, and analyze it using methods
you have learned in class. You may work in groups as large as 5. Use the following checklist to plan
and carry out your experiment. Write cleanly, using complete sentences and explaining your reasoning.
1. Define the objectives of the experiment. What are the hypotheses you want to examine?
2. Specify what group or population you will be able to experiment on.
3. Specify what you will measure as a response variable.
4. List all sources of variation you can think of in the response variable, including treatment factors and
their levels, experimental units, noise factors, and covariates.
5. Decide how many experimental units you can analyze, and determine how you will assign treatments
to the experimental units (Completely randomized design? Blocking factors? )
6. Write out the model you will fit with the collected data.
7. Assign treatments to experimental units.
7. Collect the data.
8. Analyze the data and interpret the results using methods in class.
9. Summarize the results of your experiment briefly, and note anything that could have made the
experiment better.