650-word writing
Stat 1023/2037A – FW19 Assignment 2
Assignment 2: Clarifying Statistical Research
Introduction Throughout this course, we discuss ways in which data and statistical analysis could be manipulated or reported in manners which may be deceptive, or in the least, ambiguous. We focus on learning foundational concepts in statistics to equip you with the background necessary to ask the ‘right questions’ before making decisions based on the results of research encountered in your schooling, life, and/or careers. One way to demonstrate your understanding of statistical concepts is to interpret and explain research characteristics in layperson’s language. This assignment, therefore, is set up to evaluate your ability to apply these skills. Learning Objectives
• Demonstrate an understanding of statistical vocabulary and concepts when presented in an original research report;
• Experience the process of searching for, and reading the original research report upon which a media story is based;
• Accurately explain statistical concepts and background using non-statistical language within a novel context.
Assignment Media presents the results of statistical research in short articles that are read by the general public; we refer to these articles as ‘media stories’ in our course. However, these stories often summarize only key results (with little content on context and/or sampling and study design) to present a more sensational story. As a consequence, relevant information and details—necessary to make rational decisions based on the research—are typically lacking. Your assignment is to take one of the following media stories, find the original published source, and rewrite the media story (using language suitable for a layperson) to make it more informative. Steps to complete the assignment
1. Choose one of the following media stories; it’s a good idea to read through all three options before settling on which one you will work with. A keyword for each media story has been provided to help when you are uploading your Assignment to Gradescope: Option 1: altruism
“We’d rather harm ourselves than others, electric shock study finds.” https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/wed-rather-harm-ourselves-than-others-electric-
shock-study-finds Option 2: pregnant “Pregnant women with morning sickness are more likely to use marijuana: Study”
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2018/08/22/marijuana-pregnancy- study_a_23507102/?utm_hp_ref=ca-living
Stat 1023/2037A – FW19 Assignment 2
Option 3: sex “Those good vibes you feel after sex can last for 48 hours, study finds”
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/those-good-vibes-you-feel-after-sex-can-last-for-48- hours-study-finds_n_58d3f3b2e4b0b22b0d1aa255
2. Read the media story very carefully so you understand all the information that it contains. As you read, note any information about the source of the research (e.g. researcher names/affiliations, original publication source, keywords for the research objective/variables, etc.).
3. Think carefully about the information provided in the media story and what is missing or ambiguous, or what you still have questions about regarding the study. That is, using what you’ve learned in this course, try to identify what information or details someone reading the media story would need to know about the sampling/study design and results to make informed decisions based on the research.
4. Find the original research report describing the study (i.e. the primary source or research article); use the information about the source of the research that you noted in step 2 to help in this search. If you’re not sure you’ve found the original research report, take a look at the ‘example of an original research report’ that was posted alongside this instruction file. The example also provides some descriptions of what’s included in a research report and how to approach reading one.
Be careful: Sometimes, a researcher has published several research reports about a particular topic. When you are looking for the original research report for this assignment, be sure to see if the report you find actually matches the information described in the media story. If you aren’t certain, ask! It’s better to double check before trying to write your assignment based on the wrong report!
5. Read the original research report with the purpose of finding the information/clarification you
identified as lacking in step 3. Make notes on this information in your own words.
Note: research reports often use a lot of discipline-specific jargon and complex statistical analysis. Do NOT get bogged down or discouraged by the language of the research article. Stay focused on understanding the information necessary to explain what the researchers did and what were the results. Again, if you need help, ask!
6. Once you’ve done this background work, you can write your assignment according to the
description/format detailed below. Assignment Description Write your own version of the media story, providing enough detail/information about the study design/results so that readers of your version would have the necessary content to make informed decisions about the study’s conclusions. In essence, you should create a ‘fair’, unambiguous version of the media story. However, you must write the details/information in non-statistical jargon (i.e. layperson’s terms) such that an individual with no background in statistics would understand (you can assume that the person has typical high school math knowledge, if necessary). As well, keep in mind that you are writing a media story (i.e. which tends to be more conversational and sensational in tone), and not simply summarizing the research. Consequently, you should be creative (e.g. changing the title, making up answers from interviews with the researchers, using humour, etc.) provided your resulting
Stat 1023/2037A – FW19 Assignment 2
media story is accurate (i.e. correctly discusses the research and findings…refer back to the learning objectives for this assignment). At the end of your assignment, include a citation to the original research article on which the media story is based. You may use any reference formatting format you are familiar with, provided it gives full information about the article. For example, the following would be a suitable format: Galperin, A., Haselton, M.G., Frederick, D.A., Poore, J., von Hippel, W., Buss, D.M., and G.C. Gonzaga. 2012. Sexual regret: Evidence for evolved sex differences. Archives of Sexual Behavior 42(7): 1145-1161. Doi: 10.1007/s10508-012-0019-3 Your assignment must follow these formatting criteria (see the Example assignment):
Use a maximum of one-and-a-half single-sided, 8.5” x 11” pages. Any additional content may not be graded.
Use 11 pt plain font (e.g. Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, etc.). Black font only, please.
Use 1.5 line spacing, and at least 0.8 inch margins all around (i.e. top, bottom, left, right)
Type your assignment in complete sentences, using proper English punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Have someone who is not in our course edit it for you.
Save your assignment as a PDF. If you don’t know how to do this, ask for help!
Marking Scheme Your assignment will be graded based on the following criteria:
✓ Adherence to ‘Format’ criteria described above (4 marks); ✓ Evidence of understanding and accuracy of description of the original research study design and
results (4 marks); ✓ Appropriate ‘voice’ for a media story (i.e. use of non-statistical vocabulary that a non-statistics
student would understand; maintaining the tone of a media story as opposed to a research article or summary of research) (3 marks);
✓ Inclusion of original article citation at the end of your assignment (2 marks); Questions you should ask yourself before submitting:
Have I described information relevant to sampling strategy, study design, and results needed to make the media story better/more informative? Have I missed any relevant ideas/information that would be necessary to make an informed opinion on the research described in the media story?
Are my descriptions/explanations clear and accurate, demonstrating I understand the study design and results?
Is my media story written in language that someone who has not taken statistics would understand?
Is my assignment written as a media story, rather than simply a summary of research? (remember, you are just writing a new version of the media story that is more informative—it still is meant to attract attention and/or be entertaining)
Have I carefully proofread my media story for clarity, spelling, and had someone else not in statistics edit it?
Have I followed the formatting rules carefully?
Have I included the citation for the original article at the end of my assignment?
Stat 1023/2037A – FW19 Assignment 2
Note Carefully: As you are working on your assignment, email it to yourself occasionally, or save a copy on a USB key or to a ‘Cloud’ (e.g. Dropbox). Don’t put yourself in a situation where your computer crashes and you lose your work right before the deadline.
Writing in your own words One of the major challenges of this assignment—or any situation in which you must describe something someone else has already done—is writing in your own words. You will be working with two pieces of writing from other individuals, (i) the original media story, and (ii) the original research report, in order to make your own piece of writing. In this type of situation, it can be very easy to (accidentally or otherwise) use the pieces of the other writing in your own, especially if you take notes on the story/report by copying sentences into your own file. To avoid getting into this situation, I suggest the following strategies:
• Writing something in your own words based on information from other people’s words takes some work and time—especially when you have to understand the content of an original research report written for discipline experts;
• Read the original media story several times so that you know what it talks about without looking at the actual page; this means you won’t really have to look back at the media story again for reference when reading the original research report, or when writing your own version of the media story (which will limit the opportunity to use the media story’s phrasing);
• Make notes on the original research report in your own words. It is SO tempting to just copy relevant phrases into your notes as you read, with the purpose of collecting the relevant information for rewording later. But, as time passes you might find yourself in two situations: (i) you might forget what is your words versus copied from the report, and (ii) you might be pressed for time and struggle to rephrase your notes. If your notes are always in your own words, you’ve already done the hard work!
In the end, it’s always easier to write something in your own words if you’ve worked hard to understand the research you’ve been reading. If you understand it, you can write freely from your memory, without referring to any notes (whether those notes are your words, or from the original sources). Comment on Referencing For the purpose of this assignment, you should not need to make any references/citations within your writing except the inclusion of the citation for the original research article. The content of your assignment will be based on the media story you chose (and associated original research report) and the textbook/lecture material presented in this course. You can assume I know that the material you are presenting is from these sources. You do have the freedom to ‘make up’ quotations from the researchers; use standard quotation format (e.g. refer back to how quotes from researchers are typically formatted in the media story). You can assume I know that any quotes you include are made up for the purpose of making your media story more interesting/creative. There should be no reason to quote directly from the original research report OR the media story; consequently, you should not be using any true quotes (beyond what you have ‘made up’ to maintain a media story tone) in your assignment.
Stat 1023/2037A – FW19 Assignment 2
How to submit this assignment: Your assignment is submitted digitally (i.e. not on paper) in TWO (2) places. You need to submit to BOTH of these portals:
1. On OWL, through the “Assignment (OWL submissions)” tool. 2. On Gradescope. You were emailed an account set up email to your UWO email address on
September 29. Follow that email to set up your Gradescope account, and to submit your assignment.
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism You must complete this assignment on your own and in your own words; no collaboration with peers is permitted at any stage of the assignment. Your assignment will be automatically submitted to Turnitin (as per the course syllabus) for an originality report when you submit your assignment through our OWL website as described above (you do not have to and must not separately submit your assignment to Turnitin). What does Turnitin do? Turnitin compares the content of the assignment you submit against websites, online databases and repositories of past assignments submitted to Western as well as other universities. It checks for ‘textual similarity’ between your assignment and these databases/repositories by matching similar phrases and sentences. It then generates an ‘originality report’ for your assignment, which indicates the percentage of your assignment which has textual similarity to other sources. An originality report of 100% indicates your entire assignment was copied from other sources. Why use Turnitin for Stat 1023/2037? Turnitin is being used to ensure that students complete and write their assignments in their own words. This is relevant to Stat 1023/2037 as this assignment is part of your course mark; the work you submit should reflect YOUR understanding and ability. How does my Turnitin ‘originality report’ affect my mark for Stat 1023/2037? If you have written your assignment in your own words, your submission to Turnitin shouldn’t affect your mark on the assignment at all! In the event that the analysis provided by Turnitin indicates a high degree of textual similarity, the situation will be dealt with as described in the University’s procedure for handling scholastic offences (see the Western Academic Calendar). Now I’m worried that I don’t know what plagiarism is or whether I’m paraphrasing correctly. Help! If you are concerned about whether you are paraphrasing information correctly or adequately, or are uncertain what writing practices constitute plagiarism, ask for help! Just be sure to ask for this help with plenty of time before the submission deadline! Need help on the assignment?
• If you don’t fully understand what you need to do for this assignment: o post a question to the Forum under ‘Assignment 2’ (be sure to use an informative title!); o come to our course drop-in hours to ask for clarification and/or help.
• If you aren’t sure what constitutes plagiarism, find out! There are plenty of resources available: o come to our course drop-in hours;
Stat 1023/2037A – FW19 Assignment 2
o speak with a librarian at the Research Help desk and/or review the information on plagiarism from the Western libraries (http://www.lib.uwo.ca/tutorials/plagiarism);
o check out this website: http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/what-is-plagiarism/
• If you need help with spelling, grammar, punctuation, editing a draft, clarity, style, or writing in general, visit the Writing Support Centre (http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/writing/). The people and services available are a great resource for writers of all skill levels. They have individual appointments as well as drop-in hours (see the website for information).
• If you don’t know how to set the preferences on your computer software (e.g. Microsoft Word, etc) so that the margins, line spacing, etc are correct, ask for help during our course drop-in hours or on the Forum;
• If you need help finding the original research report or obtaining access to the report, Western’s library team can help! Their research help site www.lib.uwo.ca/services/research_help.html is a good place to start; it even has videos on how to get full text versions of original articles. You might also have success walking in to one of the libraries and asking for help at the research desk. Alternatively, if you are struggling with finding information about the original research report in the first place, stop by our course drop-in hours for help.
• If you need help writing a citation for the original research report (i.e. identifying what the components of a citation are), just ask! Post to the Forums, or come to drop-in hours.
• If you have any other questions, just ask! Come to drop-in hours, or use the Forums.