Introduction
As a public health professional, the presentation of research findings is an important skill. Now that you have answered your three research questions it is time to consolidate your results and the appropriate statistical inferences you drew from them into a final report. Your report should be similar to a research article one would submit for publication.
Instructions
Your report should include the following items.
Introduction [1-2 pages in length]
Select one of your research questions as the primary question of interest. Clearly state your primary research question as well as your two secondary research questions. Your questions should have a clear explanatory variable and a clear response variable.
Build a case for why your research questions are important. Explain why your questions are relevant and what the implications might be if you find an association. c. Utilize at least two peer-reviewed journal articles to support your claims.
Methods [1 page in length]
State where your data came from and how it was collected
Discuss the statistical hypothesis test used for each research question. You should have three research questions, one for each potential association. You should go through the procedures you used to evaluate each research question.
Results: Basic Descriptive Statistics [1 page in length]
Examine your most important variables (primary response variable and your primary explanatory variable) individually. What does the distribution look like? Is the distribution symmetric or bell-shaped? If not, which way is it skewed?
If you have a lot of variables you want to report on, use a table of summary statistics. Make sure everything is well labeled and has a title.
Results: Associations and Statistics [2 pages in length]
Include the results of your three statistical hypothesis tests. Here you should report your results and not the details of the test.
What are the most relevant associations you have examined so far? Clearly state what you have found and what the main features of your figures are.
There should be three different types of graphs and/or tables included to depict your findings:
A scatterplot (for continuous-continuous association)
A two-way table (for categorical-categorical association)
Side-by-side boxplots (for continuous-categorical association)
Discussion/Conclusion [1-2 pages in length]
Report on the associations found. “I found that…”
Discuss how the associations fit together.
Discuss any theme you see. If you do not see a theme you will need to discuss the limitations such as other variables that may need to be considered, etc…
In this section of the report answer the primary research question to the best of your ability based on your analysis so far. Also, report on your secondary research questions.
What areas of future study would this report suggest?
References
Include a References section that cites all sources referenced throughout the paper using the most current version of APA formatting.
Guidelines for Submission
This report should be 7-9 pages in length not including the References page. The submission should use the most current APA format. The final project should be in the form of a report with a title (no abstract is needed). Use a standard font and size of at least 11 points, double line spacing, and minimum 1-inch margins. Make sure to incorporate the feedback you receive from your instructor before the final submission.
Research questions:
Categorical variable: CVD
Continuous variable: BMI
1. Research question: Is there a significant correlation between cardiovascular disease [CVD] and body mass index [BMI]?
Categorical response and categorical explanatory variable
Categorical response: diabetes
Categorical explanatory: ANYCHD
2. Research question: Is there a significant relationship between diabetes [DIABETES] and any coronary heart disease event [ANYCHD]?
Continuous response and categorical explanatory variable (note: the categorical variable must be dichotomous for this question)
Continuous response: TOTCHOL
Categorical explanatory variable: ANYCHD
3. Research question: What is the likelihood that total cholesterol [TOTCHOL] is a predictor of any coronary heart disease event [ANYCHD]?