CER mini-report

Research question for this parallel case: Does a slow paced-breathing exercise lower a person's resting breathing rate compared to normal quiet sitting?\n\nClaim: A slow paced-breathing exercise significantly lowers resting breathing rate compared to normal quiet sitting.\n\nEvidence: My quiet-sitting mean was 15.4 breaths per minute (SD 1.1) and my paced-breathing mean was 9.8 breaths per minute (SD 1.3), a difference of about 5.6 breaths per minute. A two-sample t-test gave p of about 0.0003, below 0.05.\n\nReasoning: Because the p-value is below 0.05, the 5.6 breath-per-minute drop is too large to be explained by normal measurement variation alone, so the paced-breathing exercise is the most likely cause of the lower breathing rate. The small standard deviations show my readings within each condition were consistent, which strengthens the comparison.\n\nLimitations:\n1. I tested only one subject, so I cannot generalize to all people; lung capacity and baseline breathing habits vary from person to person.\n2. I controlled the sitting position but not factors like recent physical activity or anxiety before the session, which could raise the baseline breathing rate and exaggerate the difference.\n\nThese limitations do not erase the result; they tell a reader exactly how far the conclusion can be trusted.