Question 1

The personnel director at a large company studied the eating habits of the company's employees.The director noted whether employees brought their own lunches to work, ate at the company cafeteria, or went out to lunch.The goal of the study was to improve the food service at the company cafeteria.This type of data collection would best be considered as
A)an observational study.
B)a designed experiment.
C)a random sample.
D)a quota sample.

Accepted Answer

The personnel director is simply observing and documenting the eating habits of the employees, without any manipulation or intervention by the director. Therefore, this is considered an observational study.

Question 2

The Quality Assurance Department of a large urban hospital is attempting to monitor and evaluate patient satisfaction with hospital services.Prior to discharge, a random sample of patients is asked to fill out a questionnaire to rate such services as medical care, nursing, therapy, laboratory, food, and cleaning.The Quality Assurance Department prepares weekly reports that are presented at the Board of Directors meetings and extraordinary/atypical ratings are easy to flag.Values computed from the sample results each week are called .

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Quality Assurance Department of a large...

Question 3

The Quality Assurance Department of a large urban hospital is attempting to monitor and evaluate patient satisfaction with hospital services.Prior to discharge, a random sample of patients is asked to fill out a questionnaire to rate such services as medical care, nursing, therapy, laboratory, food, and cleaning.The Quality Assurance Department prepares weekly reports that are presented at the Board of Directors meetings and extraordinary/atypical ratings are easy to flag.True population characteristics estimated from the sample results each week are called.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Quality Assurance Department of a large...

Question 4

Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when a person counts the number of cars passing designated locations on the Los Angeles freeway system?
A)Published sources
B)Experimentation
C)Surveying
D)Observation

Accepted Answer

This scenario involves an observer counting the number of cars passing by, which falls under the data collection method of observation.

Question 5

The British Airways Internet site provides a questionnaire instrument that can be answered electronically.Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when people complete the questionnaire?
A)Published sources
B)Experimentation
C)Surveying
D)Observation

Accepted Answer

Surveying involves the use of questionnaires or interviews to collect data from participants, which is the method used by the British Airways Internet site.

Question 6

Which of the following scenarios will yield a nonprobability sample?
A)The subjects of the sample are chosen based on known probability.
B)Items or individuals are chosen without regard to their probability of occurrence.
C)Every individual or item from the frame has an equal chance of being selected.Selection may be with replacement or without replacement.
D)Decide on a sample size, n; divide the frame of N individuals into groups of k individuals where k = N/n; randomly select one individual from the first group; select every kth individual thereafter.

Accepted Answer

In a nonprobability sample, items or individuals are chosen without regard to their probability of occurrence. Option B describes this scenario. Options A, C, and D describe probability sampling techniques.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a reason for selecting a sample?
A)A sample is less time consuming than a census.
B)A sample is less costly to administer than a census.
C)A sample is usually not a good representation of the target population.
D)A sample is less cumbersome and more practical to administer.

Accepted Answer

Choosing a sample is done in order to select a smaller group to study that makes collecting data more efficient, less time-consuming, and less costly than conducting a census. However, a sample is expected to be a good representation of the target population, so option C is not a valid reason for selecting a sample.

Question 8

Which of the following sampling methods is a probability sample?
A)Convenience sample
B)Quota sample
C)Stratified sample
D)Judgment sample

Accepted Answer

A stratified sample is a probability sample because it involves dividing the population into subgroups (strata) based on certain characteristics, and then selecting a random sample from each stratum. This ensures that each subgroup is represented proportionally in the sample, increasing the representativeness and accuracy of the results.

Question 9

A marketing research firm, in conducting a comparative taste test, provided three types of peanut butter to a sample of households randomly selected within the state.Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when people are asked to compare the three types of peanut butter?
A)Published sources
B)Experimentation
C)Surveying
D)Observation

Accepted Answer

Experimentation is the method of data collection involved when people are asked to compare the three types of peanut butter. This method involves manipulating an independent variable to observe its effect on a dependent variable. In this case, the independent variable is the type of peanut butter and the dependent variable is the taste preference of the households. By providing different types of peanut butter to the sample, the marketing research firm is manipulating the independent variable and observing the effect on the dependent variable through the taste test.

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the need for sampling?
A)It is usually too costly to study the whole population.
B)It is usually too time consuming to look at the whole population.
C)It is sometimes destructive to observe the entire population.
D)It is always more informative by investigating a sample than the entire population.

Accepted Answer

D is not a reason for the need for sampling. In fact, investigating the entire population can sometimes provide more accurate and comprehensive information than studying a sample. Sampling is necessary primarily because it is often too costly, time-consuming, or destructive to study the entire population.

Question 11

At US Data Corporation's web site, they advertised that "Because of our commitment to quality and our vast amount of industry knowledge and experience, we have grown to be one of America's leading providers of mailing lists, marketing data, sales leads and research data.We maintain databases of information on consumers and businesses nationwide that set industry standards for mission critical currency, reliability and accuracy." Trying to reach 500 potential donors for their annual phone donation campaign, a local fire department purchased a list of donors from the company.This list is an example of a
A)stratified sample
B)systematic sample
C)judgment sample
D)frame

Accepted Answer

The list purchased by the local fire department from US Data Corporation is an example of a frame, which is a data source or sampling frame from which a sample is selected. It is not a sample itself, but rather the population from which a sample is drawn.

Question 12

The Commissioner of Health in New York State wanted to study malpractice litigation in New York.A sample of 31 thousand medical records was drawn from a population of 2.7 million patients who were discharged during 2010.The true proportion of malpractice claims filed from the population of 2.7 million patients is a .

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Commissioner of Health in New York...

Question 13

The oranges grown in corporate farms in an agricultural state were damaged by some unknown fungi a few years ago.Suppose the manager of a large farm wanted to study the impact of the fungi on the orange crops daily over a 6-week period.On each day a random sample of orange trees was selected from within a random sample of acres.The daily average number of damaged oranges per tree and the proportion of trees having damaged oranges were calculated.The two main measures calculated each day (i.e., average number of damaged oranges per tree and proportion of trees having damaged oranges) may be used daily to estimate the respective true population _.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The oranges grown in corporate farms in...

Question 14

Jared was working on a project to look at global warming and accessed an Internet site where he captured average global surface temperatures from 1866.Which of the four methods of data collection was he using?
A)Published sources
B)Experimentation
C)Surveying
D)Observation

Accepted Answer

Jared was using published sources as his method of data collection by accessing an Internet site to gather historical temperature data.

Question 15

A study attempted to estimate the proportion of Florida residents who were willing to spend more tax dollars on protecting the beaches from environmental disasters.Twenty-five hundred Florida residents were surveyed.What type of data collection procedure was most likely used to collect the data for this study?
A)A designed experiment
B)A published source
C)A random sample
D)Observational data

Accepted Answer

The most likely data collection procedure used for this study is a random sample, where the researchers selected 2,500 Florida residents from a larger population to represent the views of Florida's population as a whole. This type of data collection procedure allows for the most accurate estimates of the population's opinions and attitudes towards the topic being studied. A designed experiment involves manipulating variables to observe their effects, which is not relevant in this study. A published source involves using information from previously published materials, which is not the case here. Observational data involves observing subjects in their natural or intentional context, which is also not applicable in this study.

Question 16

The Commissioner of Health in New York State wanted to study malpractice litigation in New York.A sample of 31 thousand medical records was drawn from a population of 2.7 million patients who were discharged during 2010.The proportion of malpractice claims filed from the sample of 31 thousand patients is a .

Accepted Answer

The answer of The Commissioner of Health in New York...

Question 17

The manager of the customer service division of a major consumer electronics company is interested in determining whether the customers who have purchased a Blu-ray player made by the company over the past 12 months are satisfied with their products.Which of the following will be a good frame for drawing a sample?
A)Telephone directory.
B)Voting registry.
C)The list of customers who returned the registration card.
D)A list of potential customers purchased from a database marketing company.

Accepted Answer

The list of customers who returned the registration card would be the best frame for drawing a sample as it contains a list of customers who have purchased the Blu-ray player from the company and have registered their product, indicating a higher level of engagement and thus a higher likelihood of providing feedback on their satisfaction with the product. The other options (telephone directory, voting registry, list of potential customers purchased from a database marketing company) are less relevant as they do not contain specific information on customers who have actually purchased the product from the company.

Question 18

A sample of 300 subscribers to a magazine is selected from a population frame of 9,000 subscribers.If, upon examining the data, it is determined that no subscriber had been selected in the sample more than once,
A)the sample could not have been random.
B)the sample may have been selected without replacement or with replacement.
C)the sample had to have been selected with replacement.
D)the sample had to have been selected without replacement.

Accepted Answer

If no subscriber was selected more than once, then the sample had to have been selected without replacement. If it was selected with replacement, then there would have been a chance of selecting the same subscriber more than once in the sample.

Question 19

Tim was planning for a meeting with his boss to discuss a raise in his annual salary.In preparation, he wanted to use the Consumer Price Index to determine the percentage increase in his real (inflation-adjusted) salary over the last three years.Which of the 4 methods of data collection was involved when he used the Consumer Price Index?
A)Published sources
B)Experimentation
C)Surveying
D)Observation

Accepted Answer

The Consumer Price Index is published and updated regularly by the government or other organizations, making it a form of data collected through published sources.

Question 20

A statistics student found a reference in the campus library that contained the median family incomes for all 50 states.She would report her data as being collected using
A)a designed experiment.
B)observational data.
C)a random sample.
D)a published source.

Accepted Answer

The data was obtained from a published source, therefore it is considered observational data.

Quiz 1: Defining and Collecting Data

Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when a person counts the number of cars passing designated locations on the Los Angeles freeway system?

The British Airways Internet site provides a questionnaire instrument that can be answered electronically.Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when people complete the questionnaire?

Which of the following scenarios will yield a nonprobability sample?

Which of the following is NOT a reason for selecting a sample?

Which of the following sampling methods is a probability sample?

A marketing research firm, in conducting a comparative taste test, provided three types of peanut butter to a sample of households randomly selected within the state.Which of the 4 methods of data collection is involved when people are asked to compare the three types of peanut butter?

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the need for sampling?

Jared was working on a project to look at global warming and accessed an Internet site where he captured average global surface temperatures from 1866.Which of the four methods of data collection was he using?

A sample of 300 subscribers to a magazine is selected from a population frame of 9,000 subscribers.If, upon examining the data, it is determined that no subscriber had been selected in the sample more than once,

A statistics student found a reference in the campus library that contained the median family incomes for all 50 states.She would report her data as being collected using