Statistics Independent Project - Assignment Example

1. What is your research question?

My proposed research question is, “What age group frequents computer/internet cafes the most?”

It has been common knowledge that internet cafes are frequented by a big number of people ranging from the very young to the more mature clients. I would like to find out which among these groups of people go to internet cafes most of the time to avail of their services.

2. 
   What is your independent variable?

Between groups, designs are designs where each participant in the research is in one and only one condition or group (Berg & Latin, 2008). This condition is called the independent variable.

The independent variables are conditions varied or altered by the researcher, who is the one who sets their size, amount, or value. Independent variables are “suspected causes of differences in behavior” (Bluman, 2004).

The independent variable for my observational experiment research is “Age Group.” I suspect that the age group that a person belongs to affects how often he or she goes to the internet café.

3. What are the conditions of your independent variable?

I plan to make an age grouping system divided into the following:

1. Very Young – approximately 12 years old and below
2. Young – approximately 13 to 25 years old
3. Mature – approximately 26 to 40 years old
4. Very Mature – more than 40 years old

Because of this setup where the groupings can be ordered, the independent variable “Age Group” is considered to be an ordinal variable.

4. 
   What is your dependent variable?

Dependent variables measure the outcome of the experiment. That is, they show the effects that independent variables have on the behavior that the experimenter wishes to investigate (Bluman, 2004).

The dependent variable for my observational experiment research is “Number of Internet Café Visits.”

5. How will you measure your dependent variable?

In measuring my dependent variable, I plan to go to an internet café for 7 days and observe the number of people coming in to use their services. Then, I will tally the number of visitors according to their age groups. In order to do this, I intend to utilize the tally sheet below:

Day Number (for example, Day 1)

Very Young

(approximately 12 years old and below)

Young

(approximately 13 to 25 years old)

Mature

(approximately 26 to 40 years old)

Very Mature

(more than 40 years old)

Tally of Number of Visitors

Total Number of Visitors

Then, I will collate the data and input them into the table below:

Very Young

Young

Mature

Very Mature

(approximately 12 years old and below)

(approximately 13 to 25 years old)

(approximately 26 to 40 years old)

(more than 40 years old)

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Total Number of Internet Café Visits

          The number corresponding to “Total Number of Internet Café Visits” will correspond to the value of my dependent variable.

6. 
   What is the level of measurement of your dependent variable?

My dependent variable is of Ratio Level because it results from counting or measuring. Also, it can be ranked and all arithmetic operations can be performed on it. Furthermore, my dependent variable has an absolute zero which represents the event that nobody from the particular age group visited the internet shop.