African conflict and climate data for an undergraduate research project

Abstract

Undergraduate research experiences can be a powerful tool that statistics educators can use to give students an in-depth look at real data analysis as it occurs in multiple professional and academic settings. This article has two goals. The first is to introduce two large and fascinating datasets that are freely available, interesting in content to students, and widely used in current studies. The second is to outline an undergraduate research project that utilized these data. This project was undertaken by four undergraduates over the course of a semester. The phases of the project are discussed as well as example results from the students. There are many possible modifications to the project that can be made at various levels of complexity. Appendices provide relevant R code and descriptions of the merged data available for download. © 2012 by Darcie A.P.