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{\bf 36-726 Statistical Practice}\\
Homework 01
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This first week of classes is an organizational/orientation week.
There will be no class on Monday.

On Wednesday we will discuss some guidelines for working with your
scientific investigator and set up regular times to meet with me.

Please note the paper listed below.  On Friday we will discuss it in
class.

To-do list for this week:
\begin{description}

\item[For Today:] ~
\begin{itemize}

\item Look over the syllabus.  Note especially (a) which group you are
in [syllabus page 2]; and (b) what are the ``milestones'' for the
class [syllabus page 3].

\item Read and discuss accompanying handout {\em ``On working with your
investigator''}.

\item By the end of class today you need to make the following
decisions and report them to us:
\begin{itemize}
\item A regular meeting time and place for your group to meet amongst
yourselves {\em every week}.
\item A regular meeting time and place for your group to meet with one
me {\em every week}.
\end{itemize}

\end{itemize}

\item[For Thursday:] ~
\begin{itemize}

\item Please read the following paper.  Unless otherwise indicated,
all papers for the class are available\footnote{For best results use a
non-wireless computer in the statistics department or on campus.  If
you are having trouble or you are off campus, first log on to webVPN
at {\tt http://www.library.cmu.edu/Services/remote.html}.} at {\tt
www.jstor.org}.
\begin{description}

\item Kirk, R.E. (1991).  Statistical consulting in a university:
Dealing with people and other challenges. {\em American Statistician,
45,} 28--34.

 
\end{description}

\item Be ready to discuss the paper in class on Friday.  Remember,
class participation counts toward your grade in this class.

\end{itemize}

\item[For Next Week:] ~
\begin{itemize}

\item Every group should prepare a short (15 minute) presentation of
their project for the class.  The presentation should be on a laptop
(Powerpoint or similar): use your own or bring it on a memory stick.

\item Here is the order in which groups will present:
\begin{itemize}
\item {\em Monday January 22:} Groups D, E, A 
\item {\em Wednesday January 24:} Groups B, C, F
\end{itemize}

\item The total presentation should take 10-15 minutes. {\em Every
group member should present at least 2 slides.}

\item Due Monday January 29: individual (not team) progress reports on
your projects.  See back for additional details.

\item See back of this sheet for some major points to address in your
group presentations and individual writeups.


\end{itemize}

\end{description}

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\begin{itemize}

\item {\em In-class presentations, week of January 22.}\\
These presentations should have roughly the following sections:
\begin{description}

\item[The Client:] What is the subject area? Who is the
client/collaborator? What is his/her interest in the project?

\item[The Data:] What are the data like?  Summarize the data
qualitatively, numerically, graphically.  If the data are not yet
available, explain why not and when they are likely to be available,
and what form you have been led to expect the data set in.

\item[The Questions:] What are the research questions that your client
is posing?  How important are these questions to your client?  How
have you been able to help the client specify these questions?  How
well adapted to the data are the client's questions?  What (if any)
statistical methods might be appropriate?

\item[The Difficulties:] What are you unsure about in this project;
where could you stand to get more clarity (from the client about the
problem; from your understanding of statistics; or \ldots)?  Are there
specific difficulties that you can foresee in completing this project?

\end{description}

\item {\em Individual Reports Due Monday January 29.}\\
These should provide the same general information as the in-class
presentations: the client, the data, the questions, and the
difficulties.  However, they should be organized differently:
\begin{description}
\item[Introduction.] Information from ``The Client'' above; also, what
are the main research questions?
\item[Body.] Two sections: First, infromation from ``The Data'' above.
Second, a section with the information from ``The Questions'': state
each question, comment on the appropriateness of the data for it, and
describe any statistical methods your group might try (or have tried)
for it.
\item[Conclusions/Discussion.] If you have any conclusions, state and
justify them.  Then present the information from ``The Difficulties''
above.
\item[Appendix/Appendices.] No more than two figures and tables should
appear in the Body of the paper.  Any other figures, tables or
analyses that you wish to share should go in an appendix or appendices.
\end{description}
Since it is early this report can be fairly short: 3-4 pages should be
plenty.  We will evaluate these reports for how clearly they present
information on your project, and also on such issues as style, grammar
and spelling.  

A word on {\em style:}
\begin{itemize}
\item A good academic or professional document is organized so that it
is easy for the reader to skim/fish through it to find the topics and
level of detail of interest to him/her.
\item The writing should be as {\em invisible/unremarkable} as
possible, so that the content of the analysis is what the reader
remembers, not distracting quirks or tics in the writing.  Examples of
distractions include:
\begin{itemize}
\item Writing that is too formal, too wordy, too casual, or too brief.
\item Poor organization, grammatical errors, spelling errors, etc.
\item Focusing on process rather than reporting procedures and
outcomes.
\item Getting bogged down in technical details (except in an
appendix).
\end{itemize}

\end{itemize}

\end{itemize}


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