ProjectProposal_Group035_WI24.ipynb

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   "source": [
    "# COGS 108 - Project Proposal"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "# Names\n",
    "\n",
    "- Erick Amaro Hernandez\n",
    "- Sanjith Devineni\n",
    "- Alex Macias\n",
    "- Lawrence Ong\n",
    "- Mingyang Yao"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "# Research Question"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "When competing in a powerlifting competition, choosing how much weight you'll be lifting has a lot of factors incorporated into it such as your own ability to judge the difficulty of your previous attempts and how you performed on those attempts. Our question is: Does the percentage(%) increase in attempt weight selection vary between different categorical variables such as weight class, event, and gender? \n"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "## Background and Prior Work"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "The sport of powerlifting consists of 3 main events. The squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. A powerlifting competition gives you 3 attempts at the squat, 3 for the bench press, and 3 for the deadlift, and per event, each attempt must be heavier than the last (within the event), with the max weight lifted in each event summing up to the competitor's \"total\" for a meet. \n",
    "\n",
    "As such, attempt selection is an incredibly important skill a powerlifter must attain if they want to be successful in the sport. Seasoned coaches in the sport suggest that attempts start at around 90% of an athlete's max in the event. With 5% jumps between attempts being suggested from attempt 1 to 2, and <3% between attempt 2 and 3. It is also noted that heavier jumps may occur in the last event, the deadlift, due to it being the most exciting event of a powerlifting meet and/or the unique rules that come from it being the final event of a meet. <a name=\"cite_note-1\"></a> [<sup>1</sup>](#cite_ref-1) \n",
    "\n",
    "Most of the hype around the deadlift event comes from it contributing on average >40% of an athelete's total regardless of gender according to a previous analysis of the dataset by Kaggle user Steven Wilson <a name=\"cite_ref-2\"></a>[<sup>2</sup>](#cite_note-2). The importance of a lifter's deadlift fuels our hypothesis that maybe this lift comes with even higher/riskier jumps in weight per attempt on average. Another thing we can learn from Wilson's analysis and build on is that a larger portion of Men's totals is made up by their bench press, with it making up around 25% of their total in comparison to female lifters where it only makes up 20%. The study also shows the almost trivial trend of a higher athlete body weight being associated with higher totals.\n",
    "\n",
    "[^](#cite_ref-1) Krawczyk, Bryce (6 August, 2023) So You Wanna Be a Powerlifter? Attempt Selection During a Meet. *BarBend.com* https://www.barbend.com/powerlifting-meet-attempt-selection/\n",
    "\n",
    "[^](#cite-ref2) Steven Wilson (23 Sept. 2020) Strength Differences in Powerlifting by Gender https://www.kaggle.com/code/stevenwilson8/strength-differences-in-powerlifting-by-gender\n"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "# Hypothesis\n"
   ]
  },
  {
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   "source": [
    "1. We believe there will be no difference between genders when it comes to attempt selection in general. We think this because the different distributions of weight selection a per-event basis will balance eachother out to be equal when comparing just by gender. For example, although women may choose higher squat attempts, their bench attempts will might be lower and vice versa for men.\n",
    "2. The deadlift will have the higher jumps due to the hype around the amount of weight lifted and it being the main contributor to an athlete's total.\n",
    "3. Following from the last prediction, and from Wilson's past research on contribution of an event to an athlete's total, we predict that on a per-event basis there will be a difference between men and women's jumps, e.g. since more of men's totals is made up of the bench press, they might have higher jumps than women in the bench press. \n"
   ]
  },
  {
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   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "# Data"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "The ideal dataset would be a log of powerlifting competitions and results of each of the competitors. Ideally we'd like some sort of identifier for the lifter for potentially tracking differences as they gain more experience competing. Even more ideal would be data that includes competitors' best lifts outside of competition, but that is never reported when signing up for a competition, so we believe it is not feasably attainable. \n",
    "\n",
    "\n",
    "As for collecting a dataset, it already has been. Openpowerlifting.com archives all powerlifting competitions and has a well-maintained dataset published on Kaggle which we will be using for the project. It contains weight, weight class, attempt weights, whether the attempt was successful, and calculations of various scores that are used to rank lifters across the different federations in powerlifting in each row, where each row is a competitor's performance at a specific meet."
   ]
  },
  {
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   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "# Ethics & Privacy"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "In conducting our research on attempt selection in powerlifting, it's paramount to address ethical and privacy concerns throughout the data science process. Our dataset, sourced from Openpowerlifting.com, provides valuable information on powerlifting competitions, but we recognize the importance of safeguarding the privacy of individuals involved. We will ensure that the data used is anonymized and that participants' consent to data usage is respected, given that the information is publicly available. Additionally, we acknowledge potential biases within the dataset, including underrepresentation of certain demographic groups in powerlifting competitions. To mitigate these biases, we will conduct thorough exploratory data analysis to identify any imbalances and employ strategies such as stratification or oversampling to ensure equitable analysis.\n",
    "\n",
    "Throughout the analysis, we will maintain transparency regarding the limitations and potential biases of the data. We will present findings in a fair and balanced manner, highlighting uncertainties and caveats associated with the analysis. Post-analysis, we will critically review our findings to assess their implications on different demographic groups and engage in ongoing dialogue with stakeholders to address concerns related to equity and fairness. Our research will adhere to ethical guidelines and best practices in data science, prioritizing transparency, accountability, and respect for the rights and dignity of research participants. By upholding these principles, we aim to contribute responsibly to the understanding of attempt selection in powerlifting while promoting inclusivity and ethical data use."
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "# Team Expectations "
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "\n",
    "## Communication\n",
    "* We understand that we are all students with different coursework and load and may not be available for days to respond with input to someone's ideas or questions. \n",
    "\n",
    "* To give some semblance of \"I have seen your message\", since Discord doesn't provide read receipts, we hope to adopt a practice of reacting with an emote to messages to acknowledge them if we don't have time to craft a response at the time of reading it. [Read about reacting to messages on Discord](https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/12102061808663-Reactions-and-Super-Reactions-FAQ). The tutorial shows how to do it on PC, and can be done on mobile by holding down on a message.\n",
    "\n",
    "## Collaboration\n",
    "* Since this project is a group project, and every one should contribute equally or close to equally. Everyone should take the responsibilities of a suitable amount of the work in data wrangling, analysis, report writing, revision, etc. When the work is distributed in the meeting/discord, every team member should keep track of updates on the task, report difficulties encountered (if any) so that we can adjust the work distribution, and help each other out when in need.\n",
    "* The deadline set by the group need to be maintained and every member, though has difference schedules, should complete his or her part of the work before the deadline, too.\n"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "# Project Timeline Proposal"
   ]
  },
  {
   "cell_type": "markdown",
   "metadata": {},
   "source": [
    "Our main form of communication is through Discord, to account for changing schedules like midterms/other class deadlines, meeting times should be discussed every week to be as early as all our schedules allow so we can all be on the same page and have time to work on how we decide the split the tasks each week. We believe the table below, which was provided in the template of this proposal, is good for the quarter. \n",
    "\n",
    "\n",
    "| Meeting Date  | Meeting Time| Completed Before Meeting  | Discuss at Meeting |\n",
    "|---|---|---|---|\n",
    "| 1/20  |  Discuss on Discord | Read & Think about COGS 108 expectations; brainstorm topics/questions  | Determine best form of communication; Discuss and decide on final project topic; discuss hypothesis; begin background research | \n",
    "| 1/26  |  Discuss on Discord |  Do background research on topic | Discuss ideal dataset(s) and ethics; draft project proposal | \n",
    "| 2/11  | Discuss on Discord  | Edit, finalize, and submit proposal; Search for datasets  | Discuss Wrangling and possible analytical approaches|\n",
    "| 2/18  | Discuss on Discord  | Assign group members to lead each specific part; Import & Wrangle Data (Ant Man); EDA (Hulk) | Review/Edit wrangling/EDA; Discuss Analysis Plan|\n",
    "| 2/25  | Discuss on Discord  | Finalize wrangling/EDA; Begin Analysis | Discuss/edit Analysis; Complete project check-in |\n",
    "| 3/13  | Discuss on Discord  | Complete analysis; Draft results/conclusion/discussion| Review project report; Edit full project |\n",
    "| 3/20  | Before 11:59 PM  | NA | Turn in Final Project & Group Project Surveys |"
   ]
  }
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