This assignment consists of two components:
- statistical tables and bar chart or line graph
- a report on your findings
Please submit both components in this drop box. Note that you will only be allowed to submit Word or PDF files.
Statistical Tables and Bar Chart or Line Graph
You will use the Condominium dataset for this project. The Excel file with all the relevant data can be found under Files > Project 1 > Condominium.xlsx. This file has data on different variables related to condominiums in the Cambridge area.
Create a variable that represents price per square foot. For the entire city over the full time period, use Microsoft Excel to generate descriptive statistics for sales price and price per square foot. Round your statistics to the nearest whole number. Next sort the data by the year the condo was sold. Then generate the same statistics for each yearseparately (1990-1994). Finally, create and present a bar chart or line graph to illustrate changes in median condo price over time.
Using Microsoft Word, create two tables – one for the full time period and one for the annual statistics — and present the mean, median, standard deviation, minimum, and maximum values for each of the two variables indicated above. Provide appropriate titles for your tables. Be sure to indicate the sample size for the full sample (Table 1) and for each year (Table 2).
For an example of a good descriptive statistics table, please see Table 1b (Links to an external site.). This table is meant as a rough guide.
Scoring Rubric
Correct Statistics
10: professional table format with clear labels and appropriate rounding
9: minor problems with presentation
8 max: major problems with presentation
Mostly Correct Statistics
9 max: professional table format with clear labels and appropriate rounding
8 max: minor problems with presentation
7 max: major problems with presentation
Some Correct Statistics but More than a Few Errors
7 max: professional table format with clear labels and appropriate rounding
6 max: minor problems with presentation
5 max: some correct statistics but major problems with presentation
Report
Put yourself back in time to May of 1994. Pretend that you are a real estate agent at Oxford Street Realty (Links to an external site.) writing a report on the local condominium market for your colleagues and clients. Using the statistics generated for the first part of the assignment, write a report describing the condominium market over the past five years.
Provide a title and indicate the author and (fictitious) date.
Begin the report with a brief paragraph that provides relevant background information and engages the readers’ interest. Include a discussion of the data including the overall sample size, the sample size for each year, the sampling method, the sampled population, and the time frame.
Then provide at least two paragraphs analyzing the current condo market (1994 sales to date) as well as changes from year to year. Focus on statistics pertaining price and price per square foot. In addition to the table generated for the first part of the assignment, present one or two illustrative figure(s) or graph(s) showing changes in median price and median price per square foot over time. Provide a brief but interesting discussion of the numerical descriptive statistics as well as the figure(s)/graph(s). Explain why the median may be a more appropriate measure than the mean in this particular context.
Provide a brief paragraph at the end of your report discussing any caveats or limitations.
Assume that your audience is familiar with the following terminology: mean, median, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, range, and sample.
Limit the report to a maximum of 500 words. Please indicate the word count at the end of your report.
For examples of effective figures/graphs, please see this recent article from the Seattle Times (Links to an external site.) about the local housing market.
Scoring Rubric
Statistics
The report provides an accurate description of the data including the data collection procedure, the sample and subsample sizes, and the time frame. This information is explicitly stated in the first paragraph.
___(3 possible points)
The report presents accurate and relevant descriptive statistics. In particular, the author presents a table with the relevant descriptive statistics. Any errors from the original assignment have been corrected. The table looks professional. The report refers to the table where appropriate.
___(3 possible points)
The report clearly presents a figure/graph (or two) illustrating changes in median price and median price per square foot over time. This figure/graph helps the reader observe interesting findings or patterns. The report refers to the figure where appropriate.
___(4 possible points)
Interpretation
The beginning of the report provides sufficient context and convinces readers that the topic is interesting or important. The end of the report acknowledges at least one major limitation of the analysis.
___(4 possible points)
The report discusses current condo prices (as of 1994) as well as changes over time. The findings are clearly explained and interpreted correctly.
___(6 possible points)
Quality of the Exposition
The report includes a title, author, and date.
The report targets the appropriate audience, namely colleagues and clients; i.e., the report is both accessible and interesting to this audience.
The report uses terminology appropriately.
The report contains minimal sentence-level errors.
The report is thorough but concise (within the 500 word limit).
___(10 points total for the quality of the exposition)
___Report Total (30 possible points)
Your total score for the first project will be the sum of your scores on the two components of the assignment, namely the statistical tables and the report.
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