Here are some guidelines for the final project.
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(1) You can do the project by yourself or by a team of 2 students. 
    (Team projects are encouraged, but have no impact on grading.)

(2) The scope of the project should proportional to the number of students 
    involved.

(3) It must address a real-world problem with real data relevant to the 
    course materials. 

(4) The goal of the project is to show that you know the materials 
    of the course, NOT to find a significant hypothesis testing result. 
    In other words, a rigorous study covering the materials discussed 
    in the course is more important than showing that the test result 
    is statistically significant. 

(5) The page limit of the final report is 15 (8 1/2 by 11), 
    including figures and computer output, if any.

(6) The final report should consists of 
    (a) the objective of the project, e.g. verify a hypothesis or a theory 
    (b) a brief description of the data and source, 
    (c) the approach taken to analyze the data, including 
        the methods and models used, 
    (d) the results of the analysis and their practical implications,
    (e) brief discussions of the pros and cons of the approach taking.
 [The data you use will be for the final project only. No distribution 
  or quotes will be allowed. Only TA and I will read your report.]

(7) Things to avoid:
    (a) misuse the methods or models, 
    (b) mis-interpret the results,
    (c) overlook model inadequacy,
    (d) messy or sloppy report.

Ruey Tsay
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