NCAA Tournament: What's the best predictor of success?Kinzie, Sarah, and Jeremiah compare random selection methods and a statistical selection method with actual outcomes from the 2004 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Don't mess with Jerry! |
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Religion and Politics: Do President Bush and the Republican Party have a lock on Christians in the Champaign-Urbana area?Emily and Hannah conducted a telephone survey to find out. |
Concentration: Is a Video Game more interesting than conversation?Sarah and Ellie conducted a randomized study--participants thought their swallowing pattern was the focus, but Ellie and Sarah used a videotape to count blinking rates instead. What a clever ploy! (Brother Ben enjoys time with his electronic friends in the photo). |
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Senioritis: Real or Imagined?Andres, Andy and Michael managed to rouse themselves from the prone position in the lounge for barely long enough to find out... Ellen Lindsey, school
registrar, provided data for the trio... Thanks! |
Ad Space: How does the Daily Illini stay in business?David and Mark had a guess: Ads! They compared ad space in the Daily Illini with ad space in the News-Gazette. Watch the headlines for their astonishing scoop! |
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Supermarket Pricing: Do Tall People Get Short Shrift?Teresa, Catherine, and Val compared price differences on similar products at different shelf heights at area supermarkets. |
Who's the best runner?Gerry and Ravi compared correlation between body mass index and 5K run times, and vertical jump distance against 5K times. Can higher jumpers run faster? In the photo, Gerry thanks Coach Mynatt for helping with data collection. |
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Smart Kids: Do the ACT and SAT scores for bright students fit the universal "conversion scale"?Kris, Dan, and Eli (with Ellen's help, of course)
collected data about Uni students ACT scores, and compared
"predicted" SAT scores with the students' actual scores.
Eli skipped the photo op. |
Missing School: Your GPA Knows!The "A-Team" (Antoine and Alex)
investigate whether high absence rate and low GPA are related. Any
time student data is used, of course, Ellen is involved! Principal
Patton wants to know who's missing school... |
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Seniors DO Work Hard! Really! (?)Dan and Triet set out to debunk the "myth" that older students don't make as much effort in PE class. The entire PE staff (pictured at left) cooperated in data collection. Triet (Uni 5K t-shirt) tries to skew the data by pushing fellow upperclassmen to stay "in the zone" while running. |
Chemical Testing: Don't Bet The Bank!Sarah, Kate, and Kathleen compared two different methods for testing the copper content of pennies. Do You Know What's In Your Pocket? |
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Running Time ImprovementChris and Yang think that there is greater improvement in run time for freshmen than for sophomores. PE department helps with data again! Chris was away at a track meet, working on improving his running time, of course, when the camera caught Yang "thinking." |
Got Siblings? Don't Try for the White House!Emily and Katerina explore the patterns of siblings in U.S. Presidents. Are they only children? |
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Dumb Jock vs. Slow GeekStephen, Rachel, and Mia test whether people who
score higher on the SAT run slower in the 5K
race. No dumb jocks at Uni! SAT data courtesy of Ellen
Lindsey, of course. |
Body ImageNate and Tomek assist the Student Services Office by analyzing data from a survey, last fall, concerning eating disorders and body image. Counselor Sam Smith hopes to use some of the group's results in a workshop over the summer. |
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Education and Gay MarriageZoe and Maggie (pictured) conduct a telephone survey to find whether support for/approval of gay marriage is related to education level. |
