Project by: Josh Sapira (11th Grade)
Project Advisor: Jess Prohias Gardiner
Student(s)’s Advisor(s): Jess
In this project, I will research the payrolls of various Superbowl winning teams to see what strategies they use that separate them from the rest of the NFL. Through this project, I want to better my understanding of statistics and how they can be used to explore topics. I also want to learn how to code, so I will be using R, a computer programming language meant for statistical analysis
Here are the graphs I created:
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Open in new tab Here is the code that I wrote to generate the graphs:
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UPDATES:
I just finished analyzing my data and am now beginning to work on creating visual representations that can go on the poster. I had to write A LOT more code than I initially thought, so it feels good to be finished. Every time I was about to be finished with one part of my analysis, I’d get another idea that would tack on more work. I’m in no way complaining or upset about that, as I really enjoy the work, it’s just taken a lot more time than I thought and at some points when I had been coding for 2+ hours it began to feel mentally draining. However, I think my ability to manipulate and analyze data has significantly improved for all the work I’ve done. By better understanding data and data analysis, I can read about current events, people’s opinions, and editorials through a more knowledgeable lense, preventing me from being tricked into believing something that isn’t true through the use of misleading statistics. I am excited to continue this project and many more projects in the future.
The visuals are complete. I’ve been getting much more fluent in the language and as I come up with new ideas, I am beginning to think with coding logic. After looking at all these graphs, I am a little surprised by the results. I had expected a strong correlation between value found and wins – but this doesn’t necessarily seem to be the case. It also seems that there aren’t necessarily specific places where successful teams are finding value, it really varies. I guess it just goes to show that something may appear to be one way but not actually be that way
My honors project is complete. I have learned a lot over the course of this project, including more advanced coding, information about the role of money in the NFL, and how to think in logical ways that translate into coding procedures. I linked my code and graphics on my poster, showing my process and some of my end products.
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PROJECT PROPOSAL:
Critical thinking, creativity, citizenship and courage are essential LREI learning values. Explain how you’ll draw on at least one of these values to complete your proposed project?
This project will draw on my critical thinking and creativity in order to be successful. I will need to be creative in my representation of the data I find, whether it be graphs, charts, or other graphics. My critical thinking skills will be put to the test as I will be learning a new coding language that requires the use of logic to construct loops and other tools that will help me be as efficient as possible in the process.
What is your proposed outcome? How will you be able to demonstrate successful completion of this Project? How do you plan to share your learnings with the larger LREI community (e.g., exhibit of work, poster of learnings, performance, etc.)?
I plan to make a poster outlining my process and findings. Not only will this allow the LREI community to learn about how superbowl winning teams allocate their money, it will also enable them to see how I went about finding and analyzing the data.
Please provide a general outline that indicates your work plan for the trimester? What are some of the key project benchmarks (i.e., goals that will help to ensure that you finish the project)?
-Find sufficient data on payroll and general statistics of all teams over the course of a number of years
-Code a function that will find the average positional spending by year
-Compare superbowl team’s spendings to the average
-Look into differences, commonalities, and patterns
-Develop a hypothesis
-Conduct further research to support or challenge the hypothesis
-Create graphics using R for poster
-Complete poster
When do you plan on meeting?
Because my schedule shifts a lot due to sports, I don’t have a period that is always free. Because of this we will discuss and find a time to meet each week.
Approved!