/*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} Problem 22 The report "Undergraduate Studen... [FREE SOLUTION] | 91Ó°ÊÓ

91Ó°ÊÓ

The report "Undergraduate Students and Credit Cards in 2004: An Analysis of Usage Rates and Trends" (Nellie Mae, May 2005 ) estimated that \(21 \%\) of undergraduates with credit cards pay them off each month and that the average outstanding balance on undergraduates' credit cards is \(\$ 2169 .\) These estimates were based on an online survey that was sent to 1260 students. Responses were received from 132 of these students. Is it reasonable to generalize the reported estimates to the population of all undergraduate students? Address at least two possible sources of bias in your answer.

Short Answer

Expert verified
No, it is not reasonable to generalize the reported estimates to the population of all undergraduate students because of potential sources of bias such as non-response bias and selection bias.

Step by step solution

01

Understanding the Exercise

In the exercise, estimates about credit card usage and outstanding balance for undergraduate students are made based on an online survey sent to 1260 students, and the responses were received from 132 of these students. The goal here is to ascertain whether this data could be generalized to all undergraduate students and identify potential sources of bias.
02

Generalizing Results

When looking to generalize results from a survey or experiment to a larger population, it is important that the sample being studied is representative of the overall population. In this case, the sample consisted of 132 students out of 1260 who were reached out to. However, the sample does not necessarily represent all undergraduate students because there was no information provided regarding the representativeness of the sample (e.g., are they from different colleges, different fields of study, different age groups etc.) Further, only 10.4% of students who were approached actually responded, which can introduce non-response bias.
03

Identifying Potential Sources of Bias

Two sources of bias that might affect these results are: (1) Non-response bias: As only 10.4% of approached students responded, this could introduce bias as the students who didn't respond might have different credit card usage patterns. (2) Selection bias: The students approached were reached online, which might exclude students who do not regularly check or use online platforms and could have different credit card usage habits. Also, if students from a single or limited number of institutions were surveyed, the sample might not represent the diverse situations of all undergraduate students nationwide.
04

Conclusion

Considering these potential sources of bias, it would not be reasonable to directly generalize the reported estimates to the population of all undergraduate students without further investigation or adjustment for these biases.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with 91Ó°ÊÓ!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

A petition with 500 signatures is submitted to a university's student council. The council president would like to determine the proportion of those who signed the petition who are actually registered students at the university. There is not enough time to check all 500 names with the registrar, so the council president decides to select a simple random sample of 30 signatures. Describe how this might be done.

The article "Workers Grow More Dissatisfied" in the San Luis Obispo Tribune (August 22,2002 ) states that "a survey of 5000 people found that while most Americans continue to find their jobs interesting, and are even satisfied with their commutes, a bare majority like their jobs." This statement was based on the fact that only 51 percent of those responding to a mail survey indicated that they were satisfied with their jobs. Describe any potential sources of bias that might limit the researcher's ability to draw conclusions about working Americans based on the data collected in this survey.

Does eating broccoli reduce the risk of prostate cancer? According to an observational study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (see CNN.com web site article titled "Broccoli, Not Pizza Sauce, Cuts Cancer Risk, Study Finds," January 5,2000 ), men who ate more cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and cabbage) had a lower risk of prostate cancer. This study made separate comparisons for men who ate different levels of vegetables. According to one of the investigators, "at any given level of total vegetable consumption, as the percent of cruciferous vegetables increased, the prostate cancer risk decreased." Based on this study, is it reasonable to conclude that eating cruciferous vegetables causes a reduction in prostate cancer risk? Explain.

The financial aid officers of a university wish to estimate the average amount of money that students spend on textbooks each term. For each of the following proposed stratification schemes, discuss whether it would be worthwhile to stratify the university students in this manner. a. Strata corresponding to class standing (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, graduate student) b. Strata corresponding to field of study, using the following categories: engineering, architecture, business, other c. Strata corresponding to the first letter of the last name: \(\mathrm{A}-\mathrm{E}, \mathrm{F}-\mathrm{K}\), etc.

The article "Tots' TV-Watching May Spur Attention Problems" (San Luis Obispo Tribune, April 5, 2004) describes a study that appeared in the journal Pediatrics. In this study, researchers looked at records of 2500 children who were participating in a long-term health study. They found that \(10 \%\) of these children had attention disorders at age 7 and that hours of television watched at age 1 and age 3 was associated with an increased risk of having an attention disorder at age 7 . a. Is the study described an observational study or an experiment? b. Give an example of a potentially confounding variable that would make it unwise to draw the conclusion that hours of television watched at a young age is the cause of the increased risk of attention disorder.

See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Math Textbooks

View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.