1-4 Wrapping up Ch. 1: Notes Surveys are one way to collect data, but different situations and purposes require different data gathering techniques. Such as an… (Define and give an example of each) Experiment: Observational Study: Determine whether the situation below is an example of an experiment or an observational study. Explain your reasoning. A researcher asks college students how many hours of sleep they get on an average night and examines whether the number of hours of sleep affects students’ grades. A landscaper fertilizes 15 lawns with his regular fertilizer mix and 15 lawns with extra nitrogen in his fertilizer mix. The he compares the results. 1-5 Uses and Misuses of Statistics: Suspect Samples : Make sure the sample size is enough and avoids bias of any kind. Analyze the manner in which the subjects in the sample were selected. When results are interpreted from studies using small samples, convenience samples, or volunteer samples, care should be used in generalizing the results to the entire population. Ambiguous Averages: Mean, median, mode, and midrange can be used in for the same data set and differ markedly. People who know this can, without select the one measure of average that lends the most evidence to support their position Changing the Subject: Another type of distortion can occur when different values are used to represent the same data. No comparison is made; "Our brand has 1/3 fewer calories" does not compare to anything, let alone Detached Statistics: another brand. Also, "Our brand works four times faster." Faster than what?? Implied Connections: Claims that attempt to connections between variables that may not actually exist. "Eating fish may help to reduce your cholesterol." "May help", "studies suggest", and the use of "some" do not have the best statistical basis. Misleading Graphs: Inappropriately drawn graphs that can misrepresent the data and lead the reader to draw false conclusions. Faulty Survey Questions: When analyzing the results of a survey using questionnaires, you should be sure that the questions are properly written since the way questions are phrased can often influence the way people answer them.
1-4 Wrapping up Ch. 1: Notes Surveys are one way to collect data, but different situations and purposes require different data gathering techniques. Such as an… (Define and give an example of each) Experiment: Observational Study: Determine whether the situation below is an example of an experiment or an observational study. Explain your reasoning. A researcher asks college students how many hours of sleep they get on an average night and examines whether the number of hours of sleep affects students’ grades. A landscaper fertilizes 15 lawns with his regular fertilizer mix and 15 lawns with extra nitrogen in his fertilizer mix. The he compares the results. 1-5 Uses and Misuses of Statistics: Suspect Samples : Make sure the sample size is enough and avoids bias of any kind. Analyze the manner in which the subjects in the sample were selected. When results are interpreted from studies using small samples, convenience samples, or volunteer samples, care should be used in generalizing the results to the entire population. Ambiguous Averages: Mean, median, mode, and midrange can be used in for the same data set and differ markedly. People who know this can, without select the one measure of average that lends the most evidence to support their position Changing the Subject: Another type of distortion can occur when different values are used to represent the same data. Detached Statistics: No comparison is made; "Our brand has 1/3 fewer calories" does not compare to anything, let alone another brand. Also, "Our brand works four times faster." Faster than what?? Implied Connections: Claims that attempt to connections between variables that may not actually exist. "Eating fish may help to reduce your cholesterol." "May help", "studies suggest", and the use of "some" do not have the best statistical basis. Misleading Graphs: Inappropriately drawn graphs that can misrepresent the data and lead the reader to draw false conclusions. Faulty Survey Questions: When analyzing the results of a survey using questionnaires, you should be sure that the questions are properly written since the way questions are phrased can often influence the way people answer them.
Day%204%20%201-4%20and%201-5%20notes%20and%20HW%20or%20classwork.docx