Data Analysis MAST10010

Question 1: Study Design [0 + 2 + (2+2+2) = 8 marks]

In the week 2 Tute/Lab class you designed studies to investigate research questions. For this question you may use ideas from the class discussion, but must write and submit your own work . While it is recommended to use the same question you discussed in the tutorial, you may also choose another question that was not discussed in your class .

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You are allowed to simplify or adjust the question to make it more practical, and may also make reasonable assumptions about what is possible/feasible (you should clearly state these assumptions). For example, in a study to determine “How many sheep do you need to count before falling asleep?”: it is reasonable to assume that people would be able to remember (approximately) the number they got to before falling asleep; it is not reasonable to assume that you can measure their brainwaves to determine this number.

Select ONE of the following 13 research questions:

1 Monitoring the effect upon river health of an outbreak of an algal bloom.

2 Determining the effect upon AFL anterior-cruciate ligament longitude of a new boot design.

3 Is chiropractic manual therapy an effective treatment for infant colic (unexplained persistent crying)?

4 Is a new chemotherapy drug effective in treating cancer?

5 Is yoga an effective treatment for back pain?

6 Does organically grown food contain more nutrients than non-organic food?

7 Is starch consumption good for the obese?

8 Can a diet high in heart-healthy foods and antioxidants reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease?

9 Is the population of minke whales in Antarctica decreasing significantly?

10 Mobile phone usage and brain function - should we be worried?

11 Does playing action video games improve your surgery skills?

12 Do genetically modified soybeans have different (better) nutrient value than standard varieties?

13 Cows at Melbourne University’s robotic dairy (Dookie) can decide when they are milked. Are they Australia’s happiest dairy cows?

For your selected research question:

(a) Clearly state the research question you are investigating (this should be the simplified/clarified question, if you have altered it).

(b) What are the Response Variable and primary Explanatory Variable ? Clearly state the specific data type (eg “discrete numerical”, “nominal categorical”,. . . ) of each.

(c) For each of the following aspects of experimental design, explain how you would implement them for your study, or why it is not possible/desirable to do so. You will be assessed on both the content and the clarity of your explanations.

i. Comparison

ii. Control

iii. Replication