I am putting this information on here mostly so I can site it for my paper. I know its already known but whatever. Any input you want to put in is welcomed.

A basic comparison for the three basic units of starcraft. Terran Marines, Protoss Zealots and Zerg Zerglings.

Terran Marine
Cost: 50 minerals
Supplies: 1
HP: 40

Weapon
Damage: 6
Range: 4 (Not sure on this one, can someone with datedit confirm this)

Protoss Zealot
Cost: 100 minerals
Supplies: 2
HP: 100
Shields: 60 (Shields restore themselves at a rate of .9 points per second)
Armor: 1 (Armor reduces damage taken to its HP by 9.9% for every armor value)

Weapon
Damage: 8x2
Range: Melee

Zerg Zergling
Cost: 50 minerals (for 2)
Supplies: 1
HP: 35 (Zerg units restore their HP at a rate of .5 points per second)

Weapon
Damage: 5
Range: Melee

In a straight forward battles with no micro control of units the following results were taken:
12 Zerglings vs. 3 Zealots: Zerglings won 10/10.
12 Zerglings vs. 6 Marines: Zerglings won 10/10.
6 Marines vs. 3 Zealots: Zealots won 9/10.

In a battle with micro control of units/hit and run tactics the following results were taken::
12 Zerglings vs. 3 Zealots: Zerglings won 9/10.
12 Zerglings vs. 6 Marines: Marines won 9/10.
6 Marines vs. 3 Zealots: Marines won 9/10.

In a battle with bottle necks the following results were taken:
12 Zerglings vs. 3 Zealots: Zealots won 9/10.
12 Zerglings vs. 6 Marines: Marines won 6/10.
6 Marines vs. 3 Zealots: Marines won 7/10.

In conclusion each unit is better at different types of battle patterns. Zealots are best at close quarters 1v1. Marines are best at hit and run tactics and range. Zerglings are best at swarming and surrounding enemies.

Micro control typically required to win:
Marines High amount.
Zealots Medium amount.
Zerglings Low amount.

I don't think that you'd be able to cite from a forum, but okay . What paper would this be?

Note that comparing basic units tells very little about non-cheese games, because once you throw in all the de-facto basic tier units (hydralisk, vulture/tank, dragoon), a lot of this becomes invalid. Generally, ranged units win, especially dragoons which are deadly with correct micromanagement.

Got permission to cite from forums since there is no research on the game that is published.

My paper is about what race is easiest for a new player to learn/use.

I am using the basic units as a example mostly. My main point is that protoss units cost more/ are more powerful so less micro managing is usually required. This is just some information to back that up.

Wrong. This is not WC3. In SC2 armor directly counteracts damage. 1 point of armor reduces 1 point of incoming damage.
So how much percent of an attack are reduced depends on the power of the attack.
Zealot: 8 dmg -> 12.5% reduction (least effective)
Marine: 6 dmg -> 16.7% reduction
Zergling: 5 dmg -> 20% reduction (most effective)

Btw. this is why it's a very good idea to upgrade armor first vs. Zerg, while it's better to upgrade attack vs. Protoss.
2 (1+1) armor reduces the damage from unupgraded lings by 40%. Diminishing returns ftw.

But, 1 attack upgrade for protoss is enough to shove your zealot's damage up to 18 which is enough to 2 hit a zergling (as opposed to 3 hits, previously) which means it reduces the time taken to kill a zergling by 33%, so as protoss. I'd actually go for attack first vs a zerg.

If you're terran in TvZ, it would probably be best to upgrade armor first, since an armor upgrade takes the number of zergling hits to kill a marine from 8 to 10, and an attack upgrade takes the number of marine hits to kill a zergling from 6 to 5; a 25% difference against a 16.7% difference.

For protoss in PvZ, though, Nerdy would probably be right. An armor upgrade for a zealot increases its lifespan against zerglings by something significantly less than 36% (25 hits to 34 hits to get through the health alone, but there's also the shields involved), while the attack upgrade would indeed make zergling kills 33% faster. The faster killing speed makes up for the armor upgrade, too, since it's 33% less time you have to take damage.

Look up UC Berkeley's lecture notes for StarCraft; it's actually very extensive.