Before rushing out to collect data, it is important to clearly define what you are trying to accomplish and what you are trying to answer from your study. This assessment provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate your ability to define your goals and begin to formulate a data collection strategy to meet those goals.

Identify a topic of interest in your personal or professional life and explain your reasons for selecting the topic and your thoughts about the study design. As you fill out the template, keep in mind that surveys are usually done to answer some sort of question. This topic could be something based on your professional activities or your personal interests. In other words, you get to make the subject of the statistical study something to which you can relate.

Address the following in the template:

1. Describe the topic of your survey.

2. Explain why the topic is important. (How might the results of the study be used in your personal or professional life?)

3. Identify and describe the potential variables to be included in data gathering. You must include at least three variables that might be a part of your study. Write a minimum of one paragraph describing your potential variables.

4. Define the population to be studied.Write 1-3 sentences describing your target population. Include specific characteristics including age range, gender, location, and any other identifiers that are unique and relevant to your population.

5. Explain why this is the best population for your study.Write at least one paragraph analyzing why you have chosen this population for your study.