Chapter 1: Sampling and DataContent check — Introductory Statistics, Chapter 1: Sampling and Data

Use the following information to answer the next five exercises. Studies are often done by pharmaceutical companies to determine the effectiveness of a treatment program. Suppose that a new drug is currently under study to address a respiratory virus. It is given to patients once the patient exhibits symptoms of the virus. Of interest is the average (mean) length of time in days from the time the patient starts the treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. Two researchers each follow a different set of 40 patients with the respiratory virus from the start of treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. The following data (in days) are collected.

Researcher A:3; 4; 11; 15; 16; 17; 22; 44; 37; 16; 14; 24; 25; 15; 26; 27; 33; 29; 35; 44; 13; 21; 22; 10; 12; 8; 40; 32; 26; 27; 31; 34; 29; 17; 8; 24; 18; 47; 33; 34

Researcher B:3; 14; 11; 5; 16; 17; 28; 41; 31; 18; 14; 14; 26; 25; 21; 22; 31; 2; 35; 44; 23; 21; 21; 16; 12; 18; 41; 22; 16; 25; 33; 34; 29; 13; 18; 24; 23; 42; 33; 29

Determine what the key terms refer to in the example for Researcher A.

population

Use the following information to answer the next five exercises. Studies are often done by pharmaceutical companies to determine the effectiveness of a treatment program. Suppose that a new drug is currently under study to address a respiratory virus. It is given to patients once the patient exhibits symptoms of the virus. Of interest is the average (mean) length of time in days from the time the patient starts the treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. Two researchers each follow a different set of 40 patients with the respiratory virus from the start of treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. The following data (in days) are collected.

Researcher A:3; 4; 11; 15; 16; 17; 22; 44; 37; 16; 14; 24; 25; 15; 26; 27; 33; 29; 35; 44; 13; 21; 22; 10; 12; 8; 40; 32; 26; 27; 31; 34; 29; 17; 8; 24; 18; 47; 33; 34

Researcher B:3; 14; 11; 5; 16; 17; 28; 41; 31; 18; 14; 14; 26; 25; 21; 22; 31; 2; 35; 44; 23; 21; 21; 16; 12; 18; 41; 22; 16; 25; 33; 34; 29; 13; 18; 24; 23; 42; 33; 29

Determine what the key terms refer to in the example for Researcher A.

parameter

Use the following information to answer the next five exercises. Studies are often done by pharmaceutical companies to determine the effectiveness of a treatment program. Suppose that a new drug is currently under study to address a respiratory virus. It is given to patients once the patient exhibits symptoms of the virus. Of interest is the average (mean) length of time in days from the time the patient starts the treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. Two researchers each follow a different set of 40 patients with the respiratory virus from the start of treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. The following data (in days) are collected.

Researcher A:3; 4; 11; 15; 16; 17; 22; 44; 37; 16; 14; 24; 25; 15; 26; 27; 33; 29; 35; 44; 13; 21; 22; 10; 12; 8; 40; 32; 26; 27; 31; 34; 29; 17; 8; 24; 18; 47; 33; 34

Researcher B:3; 14; 11; 5; 16; 17; 28; 41; 31; 18; 14; 14; 26; 25; 21; 22; 31; 2; 35; 44; 23; 21; 21; 16; 12; 18; 41; 22; 16; 25; 33; 34; 29; 13; 18; 24; 23; 42; 33; 29

Determine what the key terms refer to in the example for Researcher A.

variable

Use the following information to answer the next four exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of residents using a local park in San Antonio, Texas. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly, and then the resident of every eighth house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

The sampling method was

a. simple random; b. systematic; c. stratified; d. cluster

Use the following information to answer the next four exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of residents using a local park in San Antonio, Texas. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly, and then the resident of every eighth house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

The colors of the houses around the park are what kind of data?

a. qualitative (categorical); b. quantitative discrete; c. quantitative continuous

For the following four exercises, determine the type of sampling used (simple random, stratified, systematic, cluster, or convenience).

A market researcher polls every tenth person who walks into a store.

For the following four exercises, determine the type of sampling used (simple random, stratified, systematic, cluster, or convenience).

A computer generates 100 random numbers, and 100 people whose names correspond with the numbers on the list are chosen.

Use the following information to answer the next seven exercises. Studies are often done by pharmaceutical companies to determine the effectiveness of a treatment program. Suppose that a new drug is currently under study to address a respiratory virus. It is given to patients once the patient exhibits symptoms of the virus. Of interest is the average (mean) length of time in days from the time the patient starts the treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. Two researchers each follow a different set of 40 patients with the respiratory virus from the start of treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. The following data (in days) are collected.

Researcher A: 3; 4; 11; 15; 16; 17; 22; 44; 37; 16; 14; 24; 25; 15; 26; 27; 33; 29; 35; 44; 13; 21; 22; 10; 12; 8; 40; 32; 26; 27; 31; 34; 29; 17; 8; 24; 18; 47; 33; 34

Researcher B: 3; 14; 11; 5; 16; 17; 28; 41; 31; 18; 14; 14; 26; 25; 21; 22; 31; 2; 35; 44; 23; 21; 21; 16; 12; 18; 41; 22; 16; 25; 33; 34; 29; 13; 18; 24; 23; 42; 33; 29

Determine what the key term data refers to in the above example for Researcher A.

Use the following information to answer the next seven exercises. Studies are often done by pharmaceutical companies to determine the effectiveness of a treatment program. Suppose that a new drug is currently under study to address a respiratory virus. It is given to patients once the patient exhibits symptoms of the virus. Of interest is the average (mean) length of time in days from the time the patient starts the treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. Two researchers each follow a different set of 40 patients with the respiratory virus from the start of treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. The following data (in days) are collected.

Researcher A: 3; 4; 11; 15; 16; 17; 22; 44; 37; 16; 14; 24; 25; 15; 26; 27; 33; 29; 35; 44; 13; 21; 22; 10; 12; 8; 40; 32; 26; 27; 31; 34; 29; 17; 8; 24; 18; 47; 33; 34

Researcher B: 3; 14; 11; 5; 16; 17; 28; 41; 31; 18; 14; 14; 26; 25; 21; 22; 31; 2; 35; 44; 23; 21; 21; 16; 12; 18; 41; 22; 16; 25; 33; 34; 29; 13; 18; 24; 23; 42; 33; 29

Can you tell if one researcher is correct and the other one is incorrect? Why?

Use the following information to answer the next seven exercises. Studies are often done by pharmaceutical companies to determine the effectiveness of a treatment program. Suppose that a new drug is currently under study to address a respiratory virus. It is given to patients once the patient exhibits symptoms of the virus. Of interest is the average (mean) length of time in days from the time the patient starts the treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. Two researchers each follow a different set of 40 patients with the respiratory virus from the start of treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. The following data (in days) are collected.

Researcher A: 3; 4; 11; 15; 16; 17; 22; 44; 37; 16; 14; 24; 25; 15; 26; 27; 33; 29; 35; 44; 13; 21; 22; 10; 12; 8; 40; 32; 26; 27; 31; 34; 29; 17; 8; 24; 18; 47; 33; 34

Researcher B: 3; 14; 11; 5; 16; 17; 28; 41; 31; 18; 14; 14; 26; 25; 21; 22; 31; 2; 35; 44; 23; 21; 21; 16; 12; 18; 41; 22; 16; 25; 33; 34; 29; 13; 18; 24; 23; 42; 33; 29

Suggest at least two methods the researchers might use to gather random data.

Use the following information to answer the next seven exercises. Studies are often done by pharmaceutical companies to determine the effectiveness of a treatment program. Suppose that a new drug is currently under study to address a respiratory virus. It is given to patients once the patient exhibits symptoms of the virus. Of interest is the average (mean) length of time in days from the time the patient starts the treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. Two researchers each follow a different set of 40 patients with the respiratory virus from the start of treatment until the symptoms are alleviated. The following data (in days) are collected.

Researcher A: 3; 4; 11; 15; 16; 17; 22; 44; 37; 16; 14; 24; 25; 15; 26; 27; 33; 29; 35; 44; 13; 21; 22; 10; 12; 8; 40; 32; 26; 27; 31; 34; 29; 17; 8; 24; 18; 47; 33; 34

Researcher B: 3; 14; 11; 5; 16; 17; 28; 41; 31; 18; 14; 14; 26; 25; 21; 22; 31; 2; 35; 44; 23; 21; 21; 16; 12; 18; 41; 22; 16; 25; 33; 34; 29; 13; 18; 24; 23; 42; 33; 29

Suppose that the second researcher conducted his survey by choosing 40 patients he knew. What sampling method would that researcher have used? What concerns would you have about this data set, based upon the data collection method?

Use the following data to answer the next five exercises: Two researchers are gathering data on hours of video games played by school-aged children and young adults. They each randomly sample different groups of 150 students from the same school. They collect the following data.

Would the sample size be large enough if the population is the students in the school?

Use the following data to answer the next five exercises: Two researchers are gathering data on hours of video games played by school-aged children and young adults. They each randomly sample different groups of 150 students from the same school. They collect the following data.

Researcher A concludes that most students play video games between four and six hours each week. Researcher B concludes that most students play video games between two and four hours each week. Who is correct?

Use the following data to answer the next five exercises: A pair of studies was performed to measure the effectiveness of a new software program designed to help stroke patients regain their problem-solving skills. Patients were asked to use the software program twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The studies observed 200 stroke patients recovering over a period of several weeks. The first study collected the data in Table 1.32. The second study collected the data in Table 1.33.

Given what you know, which study is correct?

Use the following data to answer the next five exercises: A pair of studies was performed to measure the effectiveness of a new software program designed to help stroke patients regain their problem-solving skills. Patients were asked to use the software program twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The studies observed 200 stroke patients recovering over a period of several weeks. The first study collected the data in Table 1.32. The second study collected the data in Table 1.33.

Both groups that performed the study concluded that the software works. Is this accurate?

Use the following data to answer the next five exercises: A pair of studies was performed to measure the effectiveness of a new software program designed to help stroke patients regain their problem-solving skills. Patients were asked to use the software program twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The studies observed 200 stroke patients recovering over a period of several weeks. The first study collected the data in Table 1.32. The second study collected the data in Table 1.33.

Patients who used the software were also a part of an exercise program whereas patients who did not use the software were not. Does this change the validity of the conclusions from Exercise 1.31?

Use the following data to answer the next five exercises: A pair of studies was performed to measure the effectiveness of a new software program designed to help stroke patients regain their problem-solving skills. Patients were asked to use the software program twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The studies observed 200 stroke patients recovering over a period of several weeks. The first study collected the data in Table 1.32. The second study collected the data in Table 1.33.

Is a sample of 500 volunteers a reliable measure for a population of 2,500?

Use the following data to answer the next five exercises: A pair of studies was performed to measure the effectiveness of a new software program designed to help stroke patients regain their problem-solving skills. Patients were asked to use the software program twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. The studies observed 200 stroke patients recovering over a period of several weeks. The first study collected the data in Table 1.32. The second study collected the data in Table 1.33.

Is a sample size of two representative of a population of five?

What type of measure scale is being used? Nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio.

1. High school soccer players classified by their athletic ability: Superior, Average, Above average

2. Baking temperatures for various main dishes: 350, 400, 325, 250, 300

3. The colors of crayons in a 24-crayon box

4. Social security numbers

5. Incomes measured in dollars

6. A satisfaction survey of a social website by number: 1 = very satisfied, 2 = somewhat satisfied, 3 = not satisfied

7. Political outlook: extreme left, left-of-center, right-of-center, extreme right

8. Time of day on an analog watch

9. The distance in miles to the closest grocery store

10. The dates 1066, 1492, 1644, 1947, and 1944

11. The heights of 21–65 year-old women

12. Common letter grades: A, B, C, D, and F

Discuss potential violations of the rule requiring informed consent.

a. People in a correctional facility are offered good behavior credit in return for participation in a study.

b. A research study is designed to investigate a new children’s allergy medication.

c. Participants in a study are told that the new medication being tested is highly promising, but they are not told that only a small portion of participants will receive the new medication. Others will receive placebo treatments and traditional treatments.

For each of the following eight exercises, identify: a. the population, b. the sample, c. the parameter, d. the statistic, e. the variable, and f. the data. Give examples where appropriate.

Ski resorts are interested in the mean age that children take their first ski and snowboard lessons. They need this information to plan their ski classes optimally.

For each of the following eight exercises, identify: a. the population, b. the sample, c. the parameter, d. the statistic, e. the variable, and f. the data. Give examples where appropriate.

Insurance companies are interested in the mean health costs each year of their clients, so that they can determine the costs of health insurance.

For each of the following eight exercises, identify: a. the population, b. the sample, c. the parameter, d. the statistic, e. the variable, and f. the data. Give examples where appropriate.

A marriage counselor is interested in the proportion of clients they counsel who stay married.

For each of the following eight exercises, identify: a. the population, b. the sample, c. the parameter, d. the statistic, e. the variable, and f. the data. Give examples where appropriate.

A marketing company is interested in the proportion of people who will buy a particular product.

Use the following information to answer the next three exercises: A Lake Tahoe Community College instructor is interested in the mean number of days Lake Tahoe Community College math students are absent from class during a quarter.

Consider the following:

$X$ = number of days a Lake Tahoe Community College math student is absent

In this case, X is an example of a:

a. variable.

b. population.

c. statistic.

d. data.

For the following exercises, identify the type of data that would be used to describe a response (quantitative discrete, quantitative continuous, or qualitative), and give an example of the data.

number of tickets sold to a concert

For the following exercises, identify the type of data that would be used to describe a response (quantitative discrete, quantitative continuous, or qualitative), and give an example of the data.

favorite baseball team

For the following exercises, identify the type of data that would be used to describe a response (quantitative discrete, quantitative continuous, or qualitative), and give an example of the data.

number of students enrolled at Evergreen Valley College

For the following exercises, identify the type of data that would be used to describe a response (quantitative discrete, quantitative continuous, or qualitative), and give an example of the data.

brand of toothpaste

For the following exercises, identify the type of data that would be used to describe a response (quantitative discrete, quantitative continuous, or qualitative), and give an example of the data.

age of executives in Fortune 500 companies

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

“Number of times per week” is what type of data?

a. qualitative

b. quantitative discrete

c. quantitative continuous

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

Airline companies are interested in the consistency of the number of babies on each flight, so that they have adequate safety equipment. Suppose an airline conducts a survey. Over Thanksgiving weekend, it surveys six flights from Boston to Salt Lake City to determine the number of babies on the flights. It determines the amount of safety equipment needed by the result of that study.

a. Using complete sentences, list three things wrong with the way the survey was conducted.

b. Using complete sentences, list three ways that you would improve the survey if it were to be repeated.

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

Suppose you want to determine the mean number of cans of soda drunk each month by students in their twenties at your school. Describe a possible sampling method in three to five complete sentences. Make the description detailed.

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

List some practical difficulties involved in getting accurate results from a mailed survey.

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

An instructor takes a sample by gathering data on five randomly selected students from each Lake Tahoe Community College math class. The type of sampling used is

a. cluster sampling

b. stratified sampling

c. simple random sampling

d. convenience sampling

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

Name the sampling method used in each of the following situations:

a. A person in the airport is handing out questionnaires to travelers asking them to evaluate the airport’s service. The person does not ask travelers who are hurrying through the airport with their hands full of luggage but instead asks all travelers who are sitting near gates and not taking naps while they wait.

b. A teacher wants to know if her students are doing homework, so they randomly select rows two and five and then call on all students in row two and all students in row five to present the solutions to homework problems to the class.

c. The marketing manager for an electronics chain store wants information about the ages of its customers. Over the next two weeks, at each store location, 100 randomly selected customers are given questionnaires to fill out asking for information about age, as well as about other variables of interest.

d. The librarian at a public library wants to determine what proportion of the library users are children. The librarian has a tally sheet on which they mark whether books are checked out by an adult or a child. The librarian records this data for every fourth patron who checks out books.

e. A political party wants to know the reaction of voters to a debate between the candidates. The day after the debate, the party’s polling staff calls 1,200 randomly selected phone numbers. If a registered voter answers the phone or is available to come to the phone, that registered voter is asked whom they intend to vote for and whether the debate changed their opinion of the candidates.

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

The Well-Being Index is a survey that follows trends of U.S. residents on a regular basis. There are six areas of health and wellness covered in the survey: Life Evaluation, Emotional Health, Physical Health, Healthy Behavior, Work Environment, and Basic Access. Some of the questions used to measure the Index are listed below.

Identify the type of data obtained from each question used in this survey: qualitative, quantitative discrete, or quantitative continuous.

a. Do you have any health problems that prevent you from doing any of the things people your age can normally do?

b. During the past 30 days, for about how many days did poor health keep you from doing your usual activities?

c. In the last seven days, on how many days did you exercise for 30 minutes or more?

d. Do you have health insurance coverage?

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

Crime-related and demographic statistics for 47 US states in 1960 were collected from government agencies, including the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. One analysis of this data found a strong connection between education and crime indicating that higher levels of education in a community correspond to higher crime rates.

Which of the potential problems with samples discussed in 1.2 Data, Sampling, and Variation in Data and Sampling could explain this connection?

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: A study was done to determine the age, number of times per week, and the duration (amount of time) of resident use of a local park in San Jose. The first house in the neighborhood around the park was selected randomly and then every 8th house in the neighborhood around the park was interviewed.

A scholarly article about response rates begins with the following quote:

“Declining contact and cooperation rates in random digit dial (RDD) national telephone surveys raise serious concerns about the validity of estimates drawn from such research.”(Scott Keeter et al., “Gauging the Impact of Growing Nonresponse on Estimates from a National RDD Telephone Survey,” Public Opinion Quarterly 70 no. 5 (2006), http://poq.oxfordjournals.org/content/70/5/759.full (accessed May 1, 2013).)

The Pew Research Center for People and the Press admits:

“The percentage of people we interview – out of all we try to interview – has been declining over the past decade or more.” (Frequently Asked Questions, Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, http://www.people-press.org/methodology/frequently-asked-questions/#dont-you-have-trouble-getting-people-to-answer-your-polls (accessed May 1, 2013).)

a. What are some reasons for the decline in response rate over the past decade?

b. Explain why researchers are concerned with the impact of the declining response rate on public opinion polls.

Sixty adults with gum disease were asked the number of times per week they used to floss before their diagnosis. The (incomplete) results are shown in Table 1.35.

a. Fill in the blanks in Table 1.35.

b. What percent of adults flossed six times per week?

c. What percent flossed at most three times per week?

Use the following information to answer the next two exercises: Table 1.39 contains data on hurricanes that have made direct hits on the U.S. Between 1851 and 2004. A hurricane is given a strength category rating based on the minimum wind speed generated by the storm.

What is the relative frequency of direct hits that were category 4 hurricanes?

a. 0.0768

b. 0.0659

c. 0.2601

d. Not enough information to calculate

How does sleep deprivation affect your ability to drive? A recent study measured the effects on 19 professional drivers. Each driver participated in two experimental sessions: one after normal sleep and one after 27 hours of total sleep deprivation. The treatments were assigned in random order. In each session, performance was measured on a variety of tasks including a driving simulation.

Use key terms from this module to describe the design of this experiment.

Several online textbook retailers advertise that they have lower prices than on-campus bookstores. However, an important factor is whether the Internet retailers actually have the textbooks that students need in stock. Students need to be able to get textbooks promptly at the beginning of the college term. If the book is not available, then a student would not be able to get the textbook at all, or might get a delayed delivery if the book is back ordered.

Martin, a college newspaper reporter, is investigating textbook availability at online retailers. He decides to investigate one textbook for each of the following seven subjects: calculus, biology, chemistry, physics, statistics, geology, and general engineering. He consults textbook industry sales data and selects the most popular nationally used textbook in each of these subjects. He visits websites for a random sample of major online textbook sellers and looks up each of these seven textbooks to see if they are available in stock for quick delivery through these retailers. Based on his investigation, Martin writes an article in which he draws conclusions about the overall availability of all college textbooks through online textbook retailers.

Write an analysis of his study that addresses the following issues: Is his sample representative of the population of all college textbooks? Explain why or why not. Describe some possible sources of bias in this study, and how it might affect the results of the study. Give some suggestions about what could be done to improve the study.