Week 1 Assignment 2 (Project)

Project Week 1

Scenario: You have been approached by someone who is trying to figure out whether to pursue a business degree or an engineering degree. The person can afford either one, and the person likes both topics equally well. Your job is to focus on ROI. The central question for you to answer in this course is which major, business or engineering, will give this person the better ROI?

In this data set – the ROI data set – for 2 different majors (Business and Engineering), you are given a sample of the 20 best colleges according to ROI (ROI = Return on Investment) and their ‘School Type’, ‘Cost’, ’30-Year ROI’, and ‘Annual % ROI’.

The Week 8 project is completed in part every week. Each week, one section is due.  If you do each week’s project and adjust it if necessary with the feedback, your Week 8 project will go a lot better than if you do not.   Open the spreadsheet.

1. For each of the 2 majors create a pie chart in EXCEL using the column ‘School Type’ from the spreadsheet.  Make sure that the title clearly explains what you are looking at.   There should be a strong title and a legend.

2. For bar graphs and histograms, the textbook discusses classes and class widths in section 2.2. How many classes does it recommend that graphs have? Why? (Be sure to read about classes)

3. For each of the 2 majors create a frequency distribution table and a histogram using the column ‘Annual % ROI’.  Group the classes starting at 6% (0.06), ending at 11% (0.11), and have the class width be a half percent 0.5% (0.005).  Make sure that there are NO overlapping bars.  For example, if one bar is 0.060-0.064, then the next bar can’t start with 0.064.  It would have to start with0.065. This histogram is used again and again… Make sure it is correct. You will have to adjust the table Excel generates. An example is below – just to help you get started. The frequency column is fake, and you will have to put in the actual count/frequency.

Class

Frequency

0.060-0.064

1

0.065-0.069

3

0.070-0.074

3

0.075-0.079

2

Interpretation questions: It many sound strange, but put these answers in TWO paragraphs. The reason is that the Week 8 project is a paper that summarizes all the weekly projects. If you already have paragraphs, it will save you time later as you will most likely be able to copy/paste them together. Answer 1 and 2 in a single paragraph. Answer 3-6 in another.

** Assume that the sample of schools represents the population.

1. What is ROI? Tell us more than just the acronym.

2. Define what each of the four columns on the spreadsheet is. Go beyond naming the column. For example, one column is “Cost.” Cost of what?

3. If the person chooses to major in business, is he/she more likely to go to a public or private school?

4. If the person chooses to major in engineering, is he/she more likely to go to a public or private school?

5. What are some pros and cons to attending public vs. private schools?

6. Which bar on each histogram was the highest? What does that mean for a likely % ROI for each major?