Group Project

There will be a group data project. Students will:

Deliverables

  1. Research report
  2. Presentation

Research Report

The research report must be submitted as a Google Doc. Be sure to give edit access to edward.kung@gmail.com. The report should not exceed 5 pages, except to include tables and figures. The research report should include the following sections:

  • Project Description
    • What is the research question that you studied?
  • Background and Motivation
    • Why is the question important or interesting?
  • Hypothesis
    • What did you expect to find?
  • Data and Methodology
    • What data did you use to conduct the analysis?
      • What is the unit of analysis?
      • What is the geographic and temporal scope of the data?
      • Did you apply any sample selection criteria or filters to the data?
      • What is(are) the outcome variable(s) of interest?
      • What is(are) the main covariate(s) of interest?
      • What other control variables are included?
    • Why did you choose to use this data?
    • How will you use the data to answer the research question?
  • Results and Discussion
    • Report your results here. Include tables and figures. Discuss your results as you present them.
    • Do the results support your hypothesis?
    • What are the implications of your results?
    • Are there alternative explanations for your results? What are the limitations of your methodology? How would you address those limitations in future work?
  • Conclusion
    • A brief, one paragraph concluding remarks.
  • References

Presentation

The group will report their findings to the class. The presentation should be 10-15 minutes long and use Google Slides. The group should be prepared to answer questions from the floor about their research.

Grading

The research project will be graded holistically on the following factors:

  • Clarity. Was I able to understand the report and the presentation? Were parts of it confusing or hard to understand?
  • Accuracy. Were the methods used by the project appropriate? Were they implemented without error? Were the interpretations of the results accurate?
  • Contribution. Did the results meaningfully contribute to answering the research question? (Even if the hypothesis is rejected, that is still a meaningful contribution.)
  • Professionalism. Were the report and presentation formatted professionally and attractively? Was the language professional? Were the appropriate tables and figures included? Were references properly cited?
  • Mastery. Did the group demonstrate a mastery of the topic? Were they able to answer questions appropriately and accurately during the presentation?

Important Dates

  • Tuesday 11/3: Group formation due
  • Sunday 11/8: Topic proposal due
  • Monday 11/16: Progress Report #1 Due
  • Monday 11/30: Progress Report #2 Due
  • Monday 12/7: Progress Report #3 Due
  • Monday 12/14: Final Report/Paper Due
  • TBD: Prsentation Due

Grading

  • Progress Reports (15 pts)
  • Final Report and Presentation (100 pts)

Each progress report is a draft of the final paper, plus submission of relevant code. Each progress report is worth 5 points and will simply be graded on whether or not you followed instructions and listened to feedback, not on the accuracy of the results or the polish of the report.

Example Project

An example project (written by me) is available.

Note on Teamwork and Responsibility

You are expected to work professionally with your teammates. If I receive substantive complaints about a student who is failing to meet their responsibilities within the group, that student may lose points on the project individually.