STA 490Y 2019-20
Fall term project
Does auditory distraction affect cognitive flexibility?
There are two components to this project: (A) the analysis and (B) the written report. How each
of these will be evaluated:
(A) Statistical Analysis
(i) Exploratory Data Analysis: Once you obtain the data, you will carry out exploratory data
analysis (EDA). You will submit a .Rmd document and the data file you used in to carry out
the analysis. You will answer questions about your EDA in a one-on-one chat with your TA.
As you work on your EDA, be sure to do the following:
– Summarize the main reason(s) for analyzing these data (in your own words). What are
the goals of the analysis?
– Summarize the main features and patterns in the data. For all figures and summary
statistics that you create, you should provide a written description of the main features
observed, in the context of the problem.
– Identify any possible issues that you observe in the EDA that will affect the statistical
analysis that you will do next.
The above should be included in your .Rmd submission, and you should also be prepared to
answer questions related to them in your one-on-one chat. During your one-on-one chat, you
should refer to your EDA report, but answer questions in your own words without reading
directly from your report or notes. Evaluation of your EDA will be based on your explanations
in the one-on-one chat and the completeness of the .Rmd report you submit. Note that you
are submitting your .Rmd file and your data file but not the output. Your TA will be knitting
your .Rmd file to create their own version of your output.
(ii) Statistical analysis: You will analyze the data using appropriate statistical methods to answer
the research question. Be sure to verify model assumptions and fit, interpret your results in
the context of the research questions, and consider limitations of the statistical methods you
employ. You will conduct your analysis in R and prepare a .Rmd file containing your code,
clear documentation of your code, and brief summaries motivating your analysis and what
you observe. You will submit your .Rmd document and data file and answer questions about
your statistical analysis and conclusions in a one-on-one chat with your TA.
(B) Written Report
After you submit your analyses, your instructors will share with you the code for our analysis of
the data. While there is no single “correct” way to analyze data to address a research question,
everyone will base their written reports on the same analysis, as provided by the course instructors.
We will share with you only our R code for our analysis. You will be responsible for creating
relevant tables and figures to tell a complete (and clear) story. The graphics you created in your
own EDA / analysis may or may not be appropriate for this, depending on the choices made.
Your written report will be addressed to the (imaginary) researcher who posed the research question,
whose only experience with statistics is an introductory course (at the level of STA220H). The
audience of the report is this researcher, and the report should be written as if the researcher
collected the data to answer the research question. Presume that the researcher is an expert in
cognitive flexibility and the goals of this particular study. There are no strict rules for how long
your report should be, but we expect that it will be about 5 to 7 pages long (including figures and
tables). See the next page for expectations for this part of the project. Note that you will submit a
draft report a few weeks before your final report; approximately one week after this you will receive
feedback on the Methods/Results sections of your draft, which you’ll have time to incorporate into
your final version before resubmitting.
Key dates and deliverables
EDA
Code annotated with purpose and observations Sun Sept 29, 11:59pm (on Quercus) .Rmd + data file
One-on-one chat Mon Sept 30 / Tues Oct 1
Statistical analysis
Code annotated with purpose and observations Sun Oct 20, 11:59pm (on Quercus) .Rmd + data file
One-on-one chat Mon Oct 21 / Tues Oct 22
Written report
Draft report Mon Nov 11, 11:59pm (on Quercus)
Final report Mon Dec 2, 11:59pm (on Quercus)
Evaluation Criteria for Your Written Report
Your evaluation will reflect how effectively you communicated what can be concluded from your
analysis, in language appropriate for someone with only a basic first course in statistics. Consideration will be given to the following:
Sections
Each of the report sections will be evaluated on the following criteria:
1. Title Page
• Is an appropriate title given?
• Is there an adequate summary?
• Is complete information given?
2. Introduction
• Is the purpose of the research clearly stated?
• Is the scope of what is considered in the report clear?
3. Methods
• Is the role of each method clearly stated?
• Could the analysis be re-constructed easily based on the information given?
• Are the methods described accurately?
4. Results
• Are the results clearly stated in the context of the problem?
• Are significant results coupled with relevant estimates to give the size and direction of
the result?
• Are the results accurately stated?
• Is the research question adequately answered?
5. Conclusion / Discussion
• Are the results clearly and completely summarized?
• Have appropriate limitations and/or concerns and/or suggestions for future consideration
been clearly stated?
General Considerations
• Are the ideas presented in a logical order?
• Are the sections well-organized?
• Is the report free of grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors?
• Is the level of technical detail appropriate?
• Is the paper clear and easy to follow?