Quantitative Reasoning ISP 120 Final Project
Task: You are a team of presidential advisors, and you have been asked to give a briefing on a specific aspect of the US: population, vital statistics, health, crime, etc. The president needs to be informed of important trends in each area. If any of you have watched the television show "Westwing," this is a very realistic scenario. Using the data from the 1999 Statistical Abstract of the US, prepare a 3 page paper analyzing some of the most recent data available in the area that you have been assigned. You should focus on areas that have public policy implications or that are important issues for our nation. You will present your findings to the class in a 10 minute PowerPoint presentation.
Guidelines:
(1) Paper
The paper is to be prepared in Word and be at least 3 pages in length, excluding charts and graphs. The total length including graphs and charts should be no longer than 8 pages.
Your analysis should use three related tables in the Statistical Abstract.
Your analysis should include one mathematical model and a prediction based on it.
Your paper should have a well-written introduction and conclusion.
Use proper bibliographic references; in particular, refer to the tables you use by number.
Where appropriate, don't forget to bring in ideas from the course such as percentage change, rates, and consumer price index.
(2) Presentation
The presentation is no more than 10 minutes long, followed by a few minutes for questions from the audience.
All group members must participate in the presentation.
You must use the computer to display your charts.
Due Dates: The presentations will take place on last two days of class. An optional draft will be accepted up to the beginning of class, Thursday, Oct. 26. Papers are due no later than the beginning of class, Thursday, Nov. 2. For each class session that the paper is late, there is a one-half grade late penalty; e.g., if you hand it in Tuesday, there is a half grade penalty. If you hand it in after the beginning of class on Wednesday, there is full grade penalty, etc.
Grading: The written part of the final project will count for 15% of your course grade; the presentation, 5%.
Getting together: When doing this project, most groups meet outside of class to some extent, because only a limited amount of class time will be devoted to it. Since the groups are chosen randomly, some groups will have more difficulty than others in finding common meeting times. If your group finds it hard to get together, you must be creative in finding ways to collaborate. Some ways to collaborate without physically meeting are using the telephone, using email, and exchanging drafts when you come to class.
Finding data files:
The 1999 Statistical Abstract of the US is available in book form in virtually every library, in particular in DePaul's Richardson Library (first floor reference room, main desk). A portable data format (pdf) version of the book is available from the Bureau of Census. (Note that we are using the 1999 edition which is the most recent available; do not use the data from previous years because it is not as up to date.) Excel files corresponding to the tables are available in Quantitative Reasoning Center at Statistical Abstract Data Files. In this directory listing, the last four digits of the file name refer to the table number in the Statistical Abstract; for example the file 99S0580.xls is the Excel version of table 580 in the abstract.
Commonly Encountered Problem When Making Graphs From The Files
Frequently, when making graphs from the Excel files which we have purchased for your use, you will find that the years on the x-axis will appear correctly on XY (Scatter) graphs. The data points will appear as numbers, 1, 2, 3, etc. We believe this problem occurs because the data files were prepared in Lotus 1-2-3 and converted to Excel. In the conversion process, there is a formatting incompatibility. To work around this problem, delete the years and retype them. This process doesn't take very long, and your graph will be as you intended it.
Other data files:
You may also use the "analysis of survey data" (the Sexual Harassment survey conducted by Department of Defense in 1995) or the Metropolitan Chicago Information Center Survey 1991-1997. If you link to study enviroment issues, there are two data sources available:
The latest WorldWatch data
Some of the best environmental data can be found here
If you want to use Sexual Harassment survey data, then you need to read the word document that describes the file. Note also that
When open the Excel file, it always opens to row 2, rather than row 1; just need to scroll up to see the variable names.
Paste any Excel graphs into Word documents using the "Edit, Paste Special, Picture" command to dissociate the graph from the rather large Excel file.