Great Discoveries for Statistics

haakonlie.deviantart.com

Research and statistics

High School students were assigned to perform a research on topics covered in Statistics. The goal of this post was to guide students through the research process and help them find appropriate sources.

Research Process

Step 1: Identify a problem

First, identify the topic you want to research on and how it is connected to Statistics.
For example, you could think, "Animals were always a topic of my interest. My wish to work with animals in the future has determined my research project on statistics. How can I connect animals and statistics? How are these two subjects connected?"

Step 2: What do I know?

I know that scientists build plans on preventing endangered animals from extinction, people count species, they use animals for scientific experiments. Scientists work with animals in Zoo parks.

Step 3: What do I want to know?

I want to recognize how statistics is applied to the world of beasts.

Step 4: What resources I can use to learn more on the topic?

• Library resources
• books

• databases

1. Science Online (Facts on File)
2. EBSCO (journal articles, scholarly and peer-previewed)
3. JSTOR (academic articles from professional journals)

• Websites 

1. Google Advanced search
2. Google Scholar and Google Legal

Step 5: How shall I find the resources (Strategies/Skills I will use)?

Identify keywords
Identify reliable sources (Google Scholar, databases, Google Advanced Search, domain site:gov)

Library catalog
Use the library catalog to find resources on your topic.
Open the library catalog, choose Power search and use keywords: animals AND statistics

Life counts : cataloging life on earth
	by Michael Gleich ... [et al.] ; translated by Steven Rendall ; in collaboration with UNEP, the United National Environment Programme ... [et al.].
	Published 2002

If there is a problem, I'll ask Ms. Bee to help me find books in digital format (Questia).

Databases
Use a list of databases on MS/HS Library on Moodle.
Search them with the same keywords,  "animals" and "statistics"

Google Scholar/Google legal

Step 6: Narrowing down the topic

Browsing through the articles' abstracts allowed you to learn more about the use of statistics in the animal world. You've learned that statistics is applied to discover geographic distribution of species and its meaning (JC Willis, GU Yule - Nature, 1922 - blog.sciencenet.cn),  the statistics of natural selection (BFJ Manly - 1985 - cabdirect.org), 
Make a question. For example,

• How can animal abuse be prevented by statisticians? 
• What is the minimal number of animals that scientists need for an experiment?
• Can the number of animals living in a particular area in 10, 20, 30 years be predicted?

Step 7: Research question 
Suppose, you want to answer the first question, How can animal abuse be prevented by statisticians?

Step 8: Keywords for the research question (query)
[animal abuse prevent statistician]
site:gov
Office for the Prevention  of Domestic Violence - http://opdv.ny.gov/whatisdv/dvanimalcrlty.html

Ctrl-F - statistics

Step 9: Analyze search results and what you've learned

WHEN "CRUELTY" IS NECESSARY.  http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=18087172&site=src-live

Protecting more than animals
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hxh&AN=19103753&site=src-live

This article focuses on alternatives for testing chemical toxicity on animals that uses fewer animals. Safety testing of household, agricultural and other chemicals as well as medical products traditionally uses many millions of animals every year in protocols that are often painful. New methods, involving cell and tissue cultures, noninvasive imaging, or plain statistics are greatly reducing the need for, and the suffering involved in, animal testing. The new toxicology is more rigorously based on scientific evidence and can save time and money.

Step 10: Statistics applied to the collected data.
Apply your knowledge to treat the collected data as a statistician.