Collecting Data Review

A company famous for its nacho-flavored corn chips has developed two new formulas, A and B, which they hope their customers will like even more than the original formula. To determine whether customers prefer one of the new formulas over the current nacho flavoring, a sample of 50 customers is obtained. Each customer tastes both formula A and formula B in a randomly assigned order and indicates which one they prefer more. Which of the following best describes this study?

• This study is not well designed because there is no replication. Each customer tasted the formulas only once.

• This study is not well designed because formulas A and B are not compared with the original formula.

• This study is not well designed because the sample may not have been randomly selected.

• This study is not well designed because each customer should taste the two new formulas in the same order.

• This study is not well designed because there is not enough replication with only 50 customers.

Thirty-six students at a local middle school were randomly selected to participate in a taste test to select a new menu item for a cafeteria. Each student was given a choice between the macaroni and cheese and the Cajun potato barrels. From the sample, 20 students selected macaroni and cheese and 16 students chose the Cajun potato barrels. Each student was asked to rate the item they chose on a scale from 1 (extremely dislike) to 9 (extremely like). Which of the following prevents this study from being a well-designed experiment?

• There was no replication because students did not eat both menu items.

• The treatments (new menu item) were not randomly assigned to the students.

• An item that is currently on the menu should have been used as a control.

• Students should not have been randomly selected.

• There were no problems, and the study was a well-designed experiment.

A professor at a large university plans to conduct a study to compare the effect of online texts versus regular printed texts on student learning. If the findings are to be generalized to all students at the university, which of the following must be part of the design?

• The students in the study should have experience using online and regular texts.

• The students in the study should be a random sample from the population of students at the university.

• The students should be allowed to choose which type of text they would like to use so that different learning styles are taken into consideration.

• The professor should collect data from all students in the population before generalizing results.

• Only volunteer students should be used in the study because they are more likely to be active participants.

Kristen is investigating the opinions of students at her high school on the new school hours proposed by the school board. Which of the following is her population of interest?

• All members of the school board

• All teachers at her school

• All students at her high school

• All students in the school district

• All high school students in the state

Tags

CCSS.HSS.IC.B.3

CCSS.HSS.IC.A.1

CCSS.HSS.IC.B.4

The manager of a shopping mall distributed a customer-satisfaction survey by handing it to people as they came through one of the doors to the mall one day. Of those handed out, 215 were completed and returned. Should the results of the survey be generalized to the population of all customers of the shopping mall?

• Yes, because the sample size is large.

• Yes, because only people entering the mall were given the survey.

• Yes, because the sample was representative.

• No, because a random sample from all customers of the shopping mall was not selected.

• No, because not all customers were selected.

Tags

CCSS.HSS.IC.B.3

CCSS.HSS.IC.A.1

Matt wants to investigate the opinions of young adults in the country, ages 18 years to 25 years, about time spent playing video games. He plans to administer a survey to a sample of people. Which of the following samples is most likely to generalize to his population of interest?

• A nationwide sample of people ages 18 to 25

• A sample of attendees of a gaming convention

• A sample of people ages 18 to 25 in Matt’s hometown

• A sample of people who click on a link in an online gaming site

• A sample of people who buy video games from an online store

Tags

CCSS.HSS.IC.B.3

CCSS.HSS.IC.A.1

CCSS.HSS.IC.B.4

The president of a small company needs to collect data on the educational background of all 20 of the company’s employees. Which of the following is the best method to use for data collection?

• A census

• A systematic random sample

• A simple random sample

A scientist studying soil acidity collected soil samples from a plot of land with a stream running through it. The soil samples came from land located on only one side of the stream. What is the potential source of bias that might result from the sampling method?

• Voluntary response bias

• Undercoverage bias

• Nonresponse bias

• Response Bias, where responses are self-reported

• Response Bias, where the question wording is leading or confusing

Tags

CCSS.HSS.IC.B.3

A survey will be sent to dog owners to investigate their opinions on multiple topics. Which of the following questions on the survey is most likely to contribute to question-wording bias?

• How many dogs do you own?

• Should responsible dog owners purchase pet insurance?

• How much money do you spend on dog food each year?

• How many times did you take your dogs to a vet last year?

• Does your dog sleep in your bed on a regular basis?

Tags

CCSS.7.SP.A.1

Chosen at random, 580 customers at a car dealership are contacted and asked their opinions of the service they received.
This is what type of sample?

• convenience
• stratified
• simple random sample
• cluster

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.6

CCSS.L.9-10.6

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

CCSS.W.8.2D

CCSS.W.9-10.2D