Group Project Checkpoint - Part 1

• Checkpoint 1 Google Doc coming soon! ↗
  • You cannot edit this document directly. Instead, make a copy in your own Google Drive and share edit access with all group members. Your group should do all of its work in that copied document. When you’re ready to submit, export the document as a PDF and upload one group submission to Gradescope. You may resubmit as many times as you like before the deadline.

Please do NOT submit multiple files on Gradescope. Each group should submit one PDF total, with all group members’ names and PIDs included in the document.

Instructions

This project checkpoint covers the first half of your final project. In this report, you will include information in the following sections of what will become your final project:

• Question
• Hypothesis
• Background Information
• Data
• Ethical Considerations

Additional Resources

• Tips and advice from a previous Cogs 9 student download ↗
• Example 1, previous A+ Cogs 9 part 1 download ↗
• Example 2, previous A+ Cogs 9 part 1 download ↗

Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ

1. How specific does our data science question need to be?

   Not very specific at this point. Good data science questions usually start broad and become more precise as you explore data, learn constraints, and (when possible) consult domain experts or stakeholders. The final project is a great place to take your Assignment 1 question and refine it. For now, focus on a topic your group finds interesting and propose a reasonable question based on the limited information you have.

2. Do we need to find actual data that fits our question?

   No, you do not. In fact, most teams won’t find a dataset that contains everything needed for an ideal analysis—and that’s fine! What we are looking for is that you looked for a data set that is close enough to your topic/question. If it has missing variables or limited observations, that’s ok! You can still use the data—just let us know what or how much is missing. For example: you want to study the relationship between height and GPA, but your dataset doesn’t include GPA, but it does include average test scores. This is ok, just let us know what data you wish you had.

3. How much background info do we need?

   Enough to justify your question and hypothesis logically. You don’t need to be a domain expert (and you may not be able to find one), but you should show clear reasoning: why is your hypothesis plausible, what assumptions are you making, and what background reading or evidence supports your framing? Briefly explain how you arrived at your decisions.