Mini-Project 1: Descriptive Statistics

Part I: Is the Headline Misleading? Woman's World magazine has a circulation of over 1.3 million readers. Page 17 of the January 11, 2021, issue contained the article with the headline and excerpt below: Headline: Japanese breakthrough lowers dementia risk by 64%. STAY SHARP!" Excerpt: "Good news for chocolate lovers: Sip 2 mugs of hot cocoa daily and a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found you'll up your "good" cholesterol by 24%. Researchers credit cocoa compounds called flavonoids with the heart-smart effect. What's more, Appalachian State University scientists say folks who enjoy 25 grams of dark chocolate (about four squares) daily have better memories and multitasking ability than those who don't indulge." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The study from The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition can be found at DOI: https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.092189 Volume 101, Issue 3, March 2015, Pages 538- 548. Task: Read the study abstract (you don't have to read the entire study), which includes background, objective, design, results and conclusions. Then, answer the following questions: 1. Was the study design experimental or observational? 2. What was the purpose of the study? 3. How many participants were in the study? Describe the sample. 4. How was the sample collected? 5. Did the study use random assignment? 6. What are some of the results that you found noteworthy? 7. What were the conclusions of the study? 8. How well do you think the study relates to the headline of the magazine article? What are some concerns?