Take part in this Summer Research Project ran by WDSS, building essential team-working experience and supercharging your CV with real-world experience. More details about the Summer Research Projects scheme can be found on our info website.

The final product will be published on WDSS's research blog.

Humans are terrible at understanding probability and randomness. In this project you will create a web abb which demonstrates this by considering a simple experiment of independent coin flips.

• Create a Shiny web app in which users are asked to generate/predict their own sequence of heads and tails from imaginary coin flips
• Demonstrate that humans are inherently bad at understanding randomness and probability by identifying which sequences came from humans and which were truly random using statistical tests or a sequence of simulations

Statistician

• Explore different statistical methods to test for randomness and choose the most suitable ones for this setting
• Compare different tests, their assumptions, and outcomes
• Guide the simulation-based approach for testing randomness
• Contribute to the relevant sections of the final write-up

Programmer

• Perform the statistical tests and computer simulation using R programming language
• Develop the Shiny R web app for user-friendly interaction
• Present the results of the statistical tests
• Contribute to the relevant sections of the final write-up

• A passion for the project and, preferably, interdisciplinary data science in general
• Self-starting attitude with willingness to research and problem-solve independently
• Ability to work well in a team and clearly communicate your ideas
• Strong time-management and organisational skills.
• The role of programmer requires good command of R programming language (you may consider taking our Into-the-Tidyverse course in parallel)
• The role of statistician requires good knowledge of statistics and hypothesis testing (a preferred candidate is studying towards a degree in Statistics or has taken extra modules in Statistics)

• Use the application button on this page to fill in the form where you should attach your CV and any other sources you think are relevant for the role (e.g. GitHub profile for a coding role) as well as answering two further questions in which you should demonstrate your motivation and suitbility for the project.
• Results to be announced by the end of term 3 (Saturday 3 July 2021)
• You can apply for more than one project