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Chapter 1: Q12. (page 49)
Define statistical thinking.
Statistical thinking refers to designing and conducting studies about data to draw detailed conclusions about the observed data by focusing on research questions.
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Who is better at multi-tasking? In business, employees are often asked to perform a complex task when their attention is divided (i.e., multi-tasking). Human Factors (May 2014) published a study designed to determine whether video game players are better than non鈥搗ideo game players at multi-tasking. Each in a sample of 60 college students was classified as a video game player or a nonplayer. Participants entered a street crossing simulator and were asked to cross a busy street at an unsigned intersection. The simulator was designed to have cars traveling at various high rates of speed in both directions. During the crossing, the students also performed a memory task as a distraction. Two variables were measured for each student: (1) a street crossing performance score (measured out of 100 points) and (2) a memory task score (measured out of 20 points). The researchers found no differences in either the street crossing performance or memory task score of video game players and non-gamers. 鈥淭hese results,鈥� say the researchers, 鈥渟uggest that action video game players [and non-gamers] are equally susceptible to the costs of dividing attention in a complex task鈥�.
a. Identify the experimental unit for this study.
b. Identify the variables measured as quantitative or qualitative.
c. Is this an application of descriptive statistics or inferential statistics? Explain.
Current population survey. The employment status (employed or unemployed) of each individual in the U.S. workforce is a set of data that is of interest to economists, businesspeople, and sociologists. To obtain information about the employment status of the workforce, the U.S. Bureau of the Census conducts what is known as the Current Population Survey. Each month interviewers visit about 50,000 of the 117 million households in the United States and question the occupants over 14 years of age about their employment status. Their responses enable the Bureau of the Census to estimate the percentage of people in the labor force who are unemployed (the unemployment rate).
a. Define the population of interest to the Census Bureau.
b. What variable is being measured? Is it quantitative or qualitative?
c. Is the problem of interest to the Census Bureau descriptive or inferential?
d. In order to monitor the rate of unemployment, it is essential to have a definition of unemployed. Different economists and even different countries define it in various ways. Develop your own definition of an "unemployed person." Your definition should answer such questions as: Are students on summer vacation unemployed? Are college professors who do not teach summer school unemployed? At what age are people considered to be eligible for the workforce? Are people who are out of work but not actively seeking a job unemployed?
College application data. Colleges and universities are requiring an increasing amount of information about applicants before making acceptance and financial aid decisions. Classify each of the following types of data required on a college application as quantitative or qualitative.
a. High school GPA
b. Honors, awards
c. Applicant's score on the SAT or ACT
d. Gender of applicant
e. Parents鈥� income
f. Age of applicant
Explain how populations and samples differ?
What is statistics?
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