Constructing a Predictive Model for the Winner of Survivor
Abstract
Throughout this paper, we discuss various predictive models that could be used to predict the winner of CBS’s reality television show, Survivor, which is hosted by Jeff Probst. We first give an in-depth explanation to how the data were collected and sorted, and what the variables in the data mean. We then apply a series of predictive models to the data and analyze the results in order to determine whether the winner of Survivor can be predicted based on information the audience knows prior to the merge. If a model under consideration does not work, we explain why it fails. For the predictive model that we eventually propose for the show, we first apply Principal Component Analysis in order to achieve dimension reduction on the number of continuous variables of the collected data and then quantize them to construct a Naïve Bayes’ Classifier model along with other categorical variables.
Advisor
In-Jae Kim
Committee Member
Deepak Sanjel
Committee Member
Daardi Sizemore Mixon
Date of Degree
2016
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Program of Study
Mathematics
Department
Mathematics and Statistics
College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Recommended Citation
Dobie, D. N. (2016). Constructing a predictive model for the winner of Survivor. [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Rights Statement
Comments
This thesis can be viewed in-person by appointment only in the University Archives at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Contact the University Archives to set up an appointment during normal business hours.