MATH 221B: Final Project
For the Final Project: Design the Study assignment, complete the first section titled Design the Study.
For the Final Project: Completed Project, complete the sections titled Collect and Describe the Data and
Make Inferences and Take Action.
DESIGN THE STUDY
This is an individual project. You will create your own research question using one of the data sets provided. Review the
data sets below and think of a research question:
● BoardGames-2016-2021.xlsx
● DisneyPlusShowRatings.xlsx
● FastFoodNutritionValues.xlsx
● NBAGames-2016-2021.xlsx
● USPublicFoodAssistance-SNAP-1969-2019.xlsx
● VideoGameSales.xlsx
Below are several examples of research questions to help you create your own research question:
● One Mean (Sigma Known or Unknown): Is the average age of those buying a second home as an investment
rental property different than the national average of 47 years?
● Two Dependent Samples: Is there a difference between the mean amounts of time required to start a fire using
the flint-and-steel method and the battery-and-steel-wool method?
● Two Independent Samples: Do certified cars have a higher mean listing price than non-certified cars?
● ANOVA: Is the mean age of death for writers different for at least one of the writing categories (novelists, poets,
nonfiction)?
● One Proportion: Were more than 65% of college students involved in an automobile accident within the last 5
years?
● Two proportions: Is the proportion of men who use label details when buying clothes different than the
proportion of women who use label details when buying clothes?
● Chi-squared: Are family structure and plans to attend college independent for female students?
Answer the questions below to help you refine your research question:
1. What is your research question?
Are the average global video game sales in North America greater than 1 million units?
2. What population(s) are you studying? As part of your response, also include the name of the dataset file that
you are using for your study.
The population of interest consists of video game titles released in North America from 1995 to 2020 as
documented in the "VideoGamesSales.xlsx
3. What is the experimental unit of the study you are conducting? In other words, what is the smallest entity from
which you are collecting a single piece of data to be used for analysis? For example, if you are interested in the
average difference in the number of shoes owned by female college students vs. male college students, the
, experimental unit of the study is a college student.
One Video Game
4. What is the response variable of the study? In other words, what is the variable of interest your experimental
unit is responding to? For example, if you are interested in the average difference in the number of shoes
owned by female college students vs. male college students, the response variable is the number of shoes of
one of the students.
Video game sales in North America
5. Is the response variable quantitative or categorical?
The response for the variable will be quantitative
6. Which statistical method are you going to use for the study? It should be one of the following eight methods:
a. Quantitative, one sample, sigma known
b. Quantitative, one sample, sigma unknown
c. Quantitative, two samples, paired (dependent)
d. Quantitative, two samples, independent
e. Quantitative, three or more samples (ANOVA)
f. Categorical, test of one proportion
g. Categorical, test of two proportions
h. Categorical, Chi-squared test
7. What are the null and alternative hypotheses of the study you are conducting? Please review the format of the
hypotheses so that your response here is in agreement with your answer to Question 6. Be sure to state the
hypotheses using mathematical symbols if appropriate and define any symbols that aren't obvious.
H0: μ = 1,000,000 The average video game sales in North America from 1995 to 2020 are equal to 1 million
Dollars.
Ha: μ > 1,000,000 The average video game sales in North America from 1995 to 2020 are greater than 1 million
Dollars.
8. Please review the requirements in the text for your chosen statistical method from Question 6. What
requirements must be met to use the statistical method? Explain why your study is in alignment with the
requirements.
I will conduct a hypothesis test to compare the mean video game sales from 1995 to 2024 against a claimed
value of 1,000,000 units. Here is the null hypothesis for my study:
Null Hypothesis (H0): The mean video game sales from 1995 to 2024 (μ) is equal to 1,000,000 units.
Requirement 1: Random Sample Assumption
For my study on video game sales from 1995 to 2024, it is crucial that the sample of sales data represents a
simple random sample from the entire population of video game sales during this period.
Ensuring the Requirement is Met:
Sampling Methodology: I will use Excel's randbetween function to randomly select 50 video game sales records
from the "VideoGameSales" dataset, which covers sales data from 1995 to 2024.
, Population Representation: The selected sample will encompass diverse video game titles across different
genres, platforms, and publishers, ensuring it accurately reflects the entire population of video game sales data
from the specified period.
Requirement 2: Normality of Sample Mean Distribution
To ensure the validity of my hypothesis test regarding the mean video game sales, it is essential that the sample
mean (x̄ ) follows a normal distribution.
Ensuring the Requirement is Met:
Sample Size Consideration: I will use a sample size of 50 video games, which is sufficient according to the
Central Limit Theorem to assume normality in the distribution of sample means.
Normality Check: Before proceeding with the hypothesis test, I will visually inspect the distribution of the
sample data using histograms and Q-Q plots. Additionally, if necessary, I will perform statistical tests such as the
Shapiro-Wilk test to formally assess the normality of the sample mean distribution.
By meticulously addressing these requirements, I will confidently conduct statistical tests to evaluate whether
the mean video game sales significantly differ from the claimed value of 1,000,000 units.
Quantitative, one sample, sigma unknown (if the population standard deviation is not known).
Study Design Approval
The instructor/grader will give approval for the study design as part of the rubric for the first Final Project assignment. If
the study design is not approved, you must revise and resubmit the study design until you acquire approval. Work with
your instructor as needed. It often takes two or more rounds of revisions before a study design is approved.
As you complete the following sections of the project, if you stray from the outline of your project that you have
provided above, your project is no longer approved.
STUDY DESIGN APPROVAL VERIFICATION
Go to the “Grades” page in your Canvas course and then click on the “Final Project: Design the Study” assignment. Take
a picture or screenshot of that assignment page which will show the name of the assignment, your name, and the
assignment grade (which will show full points if approved). Insert the picture in the space below to verify your study
design approval. This approval verification picture is REQUIRED in order to receive credit for the completed project.
For the Final Project: Design the Study assignment, complete the first section titled Design the Study.
For the Final Project: Completed Project, complete the sections titled Collect and Describe the Data and
Make Inferences and Take Action.
DESIGN THE STUDY
This is an individual project. You will create your own research question using one of the data sets provided. Review the
data sets below and think of a research question:
● BoardGames-2016-2021.xlsx
● DisneyPlusShowRatings.xlsx
● FastFoodNutritionValues.xlsx
● NBAGames-2016-2021.xlsx
● USPublicFoodAssistance-SNAP-1969-2019.xlsx
● VideoGameSales.xlsx
Below are several examples of research questions to help you create your own research question:
● One Mean (Sigma Known or Unknown): Is the average age of those buying a second home as an investment
rental property different than the national average of 47 years?
● Two Dependent Samples: Is there a difference between the mean amounts of time required to start a fire using
the flint-and-steel method and the battery-and-steel-wool method?
● Two Independent Samples: Do certified cars have a higher mean listing price than non-certified cars?
● ANOVA: Is the mean age of death for writers different for at least one of the writing categories (novelists, poets,
nonfiction)?
● One Proportion: Were more than 65% of college students involved in an automobile accident within the last 5
years?
● Two proportions: Is the proportion of men who use label details when buying clothes different than the
proportion of women who use label details when buying clothes?
● Chi-squared: Are family structure and plans to attend college independent for female students?
Answer the questions below to help you refine your research question:
1. What is your research question?
Are the average global video game sales in North America greater than 1 million units?
2. What population(s) are you studying? As part of your response, also include the name of the dataset file that
you are using for your study.
The population of interest consists of video game titles released in North America from 1995 to 2020 as
documented in the "VideoGamesSales.xlsx
3. What is the experimental unit of the study you are conducting? In other words, what is the smallest entity from
which you are collecting a single piece of data to be used for analysis? For example, if you are interested in the
average difference in the number of shoes owned by female college students vs. male college students, the
, experimental unit of the study is a college student.
One Video Game
4. What is the response variable of the study? In other words, what is the variable of interest your experimental
unit is responding to? For example, if you are interested in the average difference in the number of shoes
owned by female college students vs. male college students, the response variable is the number of shoes of
one of the students.
Video game sales in North America
5. Is the response variable quantitative or categorical?
The response for the variable will be quantitative
6. Which statistical method are you going to use for the study? It should be one of the following eight methods:
a. Quantitative, one sample, sigma known
b. Quantitative, one sample, sigma unknown
c. Quantitative, two samples, paired (dependent)
d. Quantitative, two samples, independent
e. Quantitative, three or more samples (ANOVA)
f. Categorical, test of one proportion
g. Categorical, test of two proportions
h. Categorical, Chi-squared test
7. What are the null and alternative hypotheses of the study you are conducting? Please review the format of the
hypotheses so that your response here is in agreement with your answer to Question 6. Be sure to state the
hypotheses using mathematical symbols if appropriate and define any symbols that aren't obvious.
H0: μ = 1,000,000 The average video game sales in North America from 1995 to 2020 are equal to 1 million
Dollars.
Ha: μ > 1,000,000 The average video game sales in North America from 1995 to 2020 are greater than 1 million
Dollars.
8. Please review the requirements in the text for your chosen statistical method from Question 6. What
requirements must be met to use the statistical method? Explain why your study is in alignment with the
requirements.
I will conduct a hypothesis test to compare the mean video game sales from 1995 to 2024 against a claimed
value of 1,000,000 units. Here is the null hypothesis for my study:
Null Hypothesis (H0): The mean video game sales from 1995 to 2024 (μ) is equal to 1,000,000 units.
Requirement 1: Random Sample Assumption
For my study on video game sales from 1995 to 2024, it is crucial that the sample of sales data represents a
simple random sample from the entire population of video game sales during this period.
Ensuring the Requirement is Met:
Sampling Methodology: I will use Excel's randbetween function to randomly select 50 video game sales records
from the "VideoGameSales" dataset, which covers sales data from 1995 to 2024.
, Population Representation: The selected sample will encompass diverse video game titles across different
genres, platforms, and publishers, ensuring it accurately reflects the entire population of video game sales data
from the specified period.
Requirement 2: Normality of Sample Mean Distribution
To ensure the validity of my hypothesis test regarding the mean video game sales, it is essential that the sample
mean (x̄ ) follows a normal distribution.
Ensuring the Requirement is Met:
Sample Size Consideration: I will use a sample size of 50 video games, which is sufficient according to the
Central Limit Theorem to assume normality in the distribution of sample means.
Normality Check: Before proceeding with the hypothesis test, I will visually inspect the distribution of the
sample data using histograms and Q-Q plots. Additionally, if necessary, I will perform statistical tests such as the
Shapiro-Wilk test to formally assess the normality of the sample mean distribution.
By meticulously addressing these requirements, I will confidently conduct statistical tests to evaluate whether
the mean video game sales significantly differ from the claimed value of 1,000,000 units.
Quantitative, one sample, sigma unknown (if the population standard deviation is not known).
Study Design Approval
The instructor/grader will give approval for the study design as part of the rubric for the first Final Project assignment. If
the study design is not approved, you must revise and resubmit the study design until you acquire approval. Work with
your instructor as needed. It often takes two or more rounds of revisions before a study design is approved.
As you complete the following sections of the project, if you stray from the outline of your project that you have
provided above, your project is no longer approved.
STUDY DESIGN APPROVAL VERIFICATION
Go to the “Grades” page in your Canvas course and then click on the “Final Project: Design the Study” assignment. Take
a picture or screenshot of that assignment page which will show the name of the assignment, your name, and the
assignment grade (which will show full points if approved). Insert the picture in the space below to verify your study
design approval. This approval verification picture is REQUIRED in order to receive credit for the completed project.
