Need Ideas for Analytical Research Thesis

[tastydog]

To whomever reads this,

My name is Brandon and I am in my 4th year as a double major, (computer science and statistics.) I have one year and one semester left here at the University to complete both degrees and my minor. I had first chosen computer science and quickly found a love for mathematics which led me to statistics.

So, down to the point. For the statistics major I need to complete a senior project. Obviously, it has to be based in some sort of statistical analysis. I thought it would be awesome to combine my love for this hobby and/or reefs in nature with my senior project which would also double for my honors thesis. However, I do not know _what_ I should analyze. At first I was thinking of designing an experiment to collect data. I don't really like that idea because it involves much more than analysis. I would really just like to either collect data or be handed data that needs some sort of analysis completed. It can be large and complex. Something trivial or simple is not what I am looking for. The best project would already have collected data, organized or unorganized. So, I am asking anyone, do you have a project or an idea for a project that would fit the bill?

Regards,
Brandon

 

[Socals14]

I am pretty sure the goal is for you to find an idea...but you might get a reefer to hand over their logs. Maybe you can do some sort of time series analysis?

 

[disc1]

I'm sorry to be so blunt, but no one is going to hand you data that just needs some sort of analysis. That defeats the purpose of your thesis. The goal is a lot larger than just doing some complex math.

You have reached the point in your education where we separate those who create ideas from those who simply execute the ideas of others.


If you can think of something you would like to analyse or just learn about, then this community can be a treasure trove of data. Most of the people here would gladly contribute.

 

[disc1]

Some ideas that come to my mind are in the areas of populations and population distributions. You can play that from whales all the way down to plankton. Analyse it over time and tie in human activity. Or analyse it over temperature and temperature changes. A lot of that data has been collected already, you just need to get out and find it.

 

[doctorgori]

....You have reached the point in your education where we separate those who create ideas from those who simply execute the ideas of others.


.

....that was succinct but original

 

[xCry0x]

You have reached the point in your education where we separate those who create ideas from those who simply execute the ideas of others.

Awesome.

 

[Socals14]

You have reached the point in your education where we separate those who create ideas from those who simply execute the ideas of others.

While I like your thoughts here, it is not uncommon for senior theses to be replications or small tweaks to existing research ideas.

 

[disc1]

I am a little jaded with the students.

Reason #2 that I moved to the private sector.

 

[snorvich]

Some ideas that come to my mind are in the areas of populations and population distributions. You can play that from whales all the way down to plankton. Analyse it over time and tie in human activity. Or analyse it over temperature and temperature changes. A lot of that data has been collected already, you just need to get out and find it.

Populations and their standard deviations from a mean are great candidates especially if you are able to show shifts over time. Causal relationships (or lack thereof) is another area. We would certainly be interested to know what you decide upon. And for perspective, David has a Phd in chemistry . . .

 

[jong11]

I'm not the op's professor so i don't know the assignment, but from my own experience you should develop a thesis and then research multiple studies for data. Once you have collected data from multiple sources, you can combine the data for analysis.
This would go a step beyond a standard scientific analysis which collects and analyzes its own data.
The advantage of researching other studies and using their data to facilitate your own analysis is that you gain insight into multiple perspectives and you have a larger set of data.
There's no reason why your thesis shouldn't have original ideas which you have backed up with data collected from scientific studies. Collecting your own data is more graduate level.
How about something along the lines of climate change and the degrading of coral reefs?

 

[Socals14]

I'm not the op's professor so i don't know the assignment, but from my own experience you should develop a thesis and then research multiple studies for data. Once you have collected data from multiple sources, you can combine the data for analysis.
This would go a step beyond a standard scientific analysis which collects and analyzes its own data.
The advantage of researching other studies and using their data to facilitate your own analysis is that you gain insight into multiple perspectives and you have a larger set of data.
There's no reason why your thesis shouldn't have original ideas which you have backed up with data collected from scientific studies. Collecting your own data is more graduate level.
How about something along the lines of climate change and the degrading of coral reefs?

A meta-analysis?