Culminating Project

The Culminating Project is a research assignment on statistics in which students will collect data,
analyze the data and present a report on their findings. This is a very large project, and students
must work on it for several months. While some class time will be allotted for the project
throughout the semester, students will be spending the vast majority of their time working on it
outside of class time.

Components of the Project

• Collection of data on a topic of your choice
• Analysis of the data and related research
• Final Report
• Presentation of results

Your Presentation should consist of the following components:

o Introduction to topic and explanation of the issues and relevant research o
Presentation of the data o Your analysis of the data combined with related
findings from other research o Conclusion, limitations of your conclusion and
avenues of further study

Evaluation
All categories will be evaluated during this project. There are three components to the
evaluation: Research, Final Report and Presentation.
Process

1) Determine your topic

 First, develop a question or series of questions – choose a topic that interests you and that you
feel you will be able to collect data on.
 Once you choose your question or series of questions, you should come up with a hypothesis
for what you think the answer to each question will be.
 Make sure you back up your hypothesis with reasoning relevant to the social context of your
particular question

2) Progress Update #1: Project Proposal (5% of mark)

 Clearly state your thesis question. If it helps, use the format: “Is there a relationship
between….”
 Clearly state your hypothesis (i.e. what you predict the answer to your question will be)
 Cite the sources you have already found for your project. Your sources may be online or in
printed form.
 You should include sources where you have found raw data for your project (i.e.
Statistics Canada, Nationmaster, etc.) AND sources for related research (i.e. studies
performed by someone else that relate to your research question/hypothesis).
 Use a recognized format to cite sources properly (i.e. APA, MLA, etc. Easybib.com is a
helpful website to cite sources properly).

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 Useful Internet Data Resources

Websites that contain data on various attributes of the Canadian population:

E-Stat http://www.statcan.ca/english/Estat/licence.htm
Statistics Canada http://www.statcan.ca/menu-en.htm

Websites that compare various attribute measurements between countries.

NationMaster.com http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php
Central Intelligence Agency – https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
The World Factbook

Sample Projects:
http://www.brocku.ca/cmt/mdm4u/asprojects/index.html

3) Progress Update #2: Presentation of Data (5% of mark)

 Collect data from a valid secondary source (i.e. educational books, magazines, or websites
such as Statistics Canada). Primary data (i.e collected through your own, unbiased survey)
may be included if you choose, but only to supplement your secondary sources.
 Aim for 500 – 1000 pieces of raw data (discuss with your teacher based on what your study is
on)
 All of the data should be raw (i.e. just numbers). This means no charts, graphs, summary
statistics or conclusions from another source.
 Organize your data using meaningful tables.

4) Progress Update #3: Data Analysis (5% of mark)  Organize your data using a variety of graphs.
 Graphs and tables should be formatted so that they are easy to read and understand (i.e. label
the axes, title the graph, remove any unnecessary legends, etc.)
 Look for trends in your data and confirm these trends using statistics.
 Your analysis should include one-variable statistics (studied in Chapter 2) AND two-variable
statistics (studied in Chapter 3). (Include standard deviation, variance, line of best fit (linear
regression), correlation coefficient or coefficient of determination, etc,)
 You should do your calculations using technology (i.e. Excel), so there is no need to show all
of your calculation steps. You should, however, ensure that you are applying the correct kind
of statistical analysis to your data (linear or exponential, etc.).

5) Progress Update #4: Summary of Findings and Presentation Plan (10% of mark)
 Study the results from your analysis and develop a conclusion with a logical argument. Your
conclusion should be based on the statistics you calculated.
 Develop a written outline for your presentation. You should include a description of each
graph you intend to show and what you will say about it, and a breakdown of which group
member will discuss each topic.

6) Final Presentation (25% of mark)

 Create a Powerpoint presentation summarizing your research and findings.

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  The presentation should outline your research question, data, statistical analysis and
conclusions.
 Your presentation is expected to be 10 -15 minutes long.

7) Final Report (50% of mark)

 Write a final report taking into account all your research, analysis and any feedback based
on your presentation. See FINAL REPORT section for more information.

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