Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My question on my project was Does thumb diameter, length or wrist diameter have an effect on the chances of winning a thumb wrestling match? and i really dont know how to start off.

Hi Llamar,
What you are asking is whether any or all of those independent variables have a result on the outcome of the match? How about you pick 6-8 different pairs of people from your friends and family first? The same person could be in more than one pair but don't repeat one person too many times so you have data from many independent sources.
Now for each pair, note down the measurements for all the independent variables for each person. Then see who wins the match. For each pair, you can note who won. At the end you will have the data from all pairs and by comparing them, you can conclude if a specific feature (let's say, longer thumb length) is likely to influence the outcome of the match. It's possible that none of these features correlate with winning, which could be totally random or dependent on something completely different, like strength (which is not a simple measure).
Hope this helps you get started! Please write back if you have more questions.
MS