You must type this and all other homework assignments. Do not e-mail the assignment to me; turn it in early (at 322 Wolf) for a foreseeable absence, or turn it in late after an unexpected absence from class.
1. Choose an article from your favorite scientific journal. It should be a regular-sized article (not a brief note) in a specialized journal (not Science, Nature, or PNAS). If you don't have a favorite journal, I recommend Evolution.Make sure it has some kind of statistical test in it. Read through it and identify at least six variables that are analyzed in the paper. For each variable, provide the name of the variable (such as "LAM"), and if it's not obvious from the name, give a short explanation of what the variable is (such as "length of the anterior adductor muscle scar on a mussel shell"). Then say whether the variable is a measurement variable, an attribute variable, or a ranked variable. If a measurement variable has been converted to an attribute variable, or if the percentages from an attribute variable have been analyzed as if they were a measurement variable, mention this. You must have at least six variables; if you don't have six, do more than one paper.
2. Next, find one statistical test that is used in the paper. It may be difficult after only one week of class, but try to anwer the following:
3. Give the citation information (authors, year, article title, journal, volume, page numbers) for the article or articles you've used.
Mmmmm, bonus: Everyone who finds an article with a true ranked variable (not a measurement variable converted to a ranked variable for a non-parametric test) gets a donut at the next class.
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This page was last revised Sept. 4, 2008. Its URL is http://udel.edu/~mcdonald/stathw1.html