Types of Studies

Which of the statements about statistical studies is true?

• Surveying all English classes at Mepham would be a good sample to determine the number of hours students at Mepham spend studying

• Surveying all ninth graders at Mepham would be a good sample to determine the number of student parking spaces needed at Mepham

• Surveying all students in one lunch period at Mepham would be a good sample to determine the number of hours adults spend on social media

• Surveying all Calculus students at Mepham would be a good sample to determine the number of students at Mepham who don't like Math

The best sampling method for obtaining a random sample of students who represent the entire population of a school would be

• Selecting every other person entering the weight room

• Selecting every fifth person entering the school building

• Selecting the first thirty people entering the cafeteria

• Asking for volunteers in physical education class

Lacey is conducting a survey about the junior class's clothing preferences. Which of the following would have the LEAST impact on the reliability of the sample?

• the size of the sample

• the day of the week (M-F) she conducts the survey

• the gender of the students in the sample

• the location where she chooses to find students to sample

A group of students surveys 40 students from the freshman class to determine the number of pets in the household of a normal teen. Should the group consider their data to be a population data set or a sample data set?

• Population

• Sample

A gas station is conducting a consumer satisfaction survey. Which method of collecting data would most likely lead to a biased sample?

• Interviewing every 5th customer to come into the station

• interviewing customers chosen at random by a computer at the checkout

• interviewing customers who call an 800 number posted on the customers' receipts

• interviewing every customer who comes into the station on a day of the week chosen at random out of a hat

A doctor wants to determine the effectiveness of a new nasal spray on patients experiencing the flu. The patients are separated into 2 groups with the nasal spray prescribed for only one of the groups. The results are compared. Which type of study best describes this situation?

• Survey

• Census

• Observational study

• Experimental study

A review session is provided for all students before the Regents exam. Mrs. McClenahan recorded the students in her class who attended the review session and compared their test scores of the remaining students in her class. Did Mrs. McClenahan perform an observational study or an experimental study?

• Observational

• Experimental

A study is needed to determine what proportion of a specific population like chocolate chip cookies. A random sample set of the population is chosen. Which best describes "survey" of data for this situation?

• The researchers follow the people in the sample for a period of time to observe their cookie purchases at coffee shops and cafes

• The researchers ask the sample of people whether they like chocolate chip cookies

• The researchers separate the sample into smaller groups and record their responses to eating different types of cookies

The Republican Party needs to collect data on the preferences of their party members regarding a new bill. Which method of data collection is most appropriate?

• survey

• observational study

• controlled experiment

Which is not part of an observational study?

• Choosing a sample group

• Gather data from the sample group

• Divide the sample into 2 groups, with one group being the control group

• Analyze the data obtained from the sample group