Deck 1: An Introduction to Statistics

Question 1

Descriptive statistics focuses on summarizing and presenting data, and includes tables and graphs as well as numerical statistics.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Ratio data has all the properties of interval data, plus a natural zero point, allowing for legitimate ratio comparisons.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What is the primary goal of statistics?

A)to create an environment of certainty in decision making
B)to transform data into information
C)to make everything measurable
D)to raise the level of data from ordinal to interval
E)to calculate various measures

Answer 3

to transform data into information

Question 4

Time series data are data collected at, or representing, the same point in time.

Question 5

With a deterministic view of the world, there is randomness in the world.

Question 6

A statistics professor asked students in a class their height.On the basis of this information, the professor states that the average height of all the students in the university is 67.3 inches.This is an example of:

A)a census
B)descriptive statistics
C)an experiment
D)statistical inference
E)none of the above

Question 7

Cross-sectional data are data collected at, or representing, the same point in time.

Question 8

The Internet is NOT a good source of data because the data cannot be verified.

Question 9

What is the order of the four activities related to data involved in statistics?

A)collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting
B)collecting, interpreting, analyzing, and presenting
C)analyzing, collecting, presenting, and interpreting
D)analyzing, presenting, interpreting, and collecting
E)interpreting, collecting, analyzing, and presenting

Question 10

Qualitative data are never numeric.

Question 11

Statistics is the art and science of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data in an effort to transform that data into useful information.

Question 12

Which of the following is that branch of statistics that deals with the selection and use of sample data to produce information about the larger population from which the sample was selected:

A)inferential statistics
B)descriptive statistics
C)statistical inference
D)report generation
E)none of the above

Question 13

The ASA's Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice call for integrity, openness, and diligence in all aspects of statistical work.

Question 14

Data measured on an interval scale cannot be rank-ordered.

Question 15

Numeric data are always quantitative.

Question 16

Statistics is the art and science of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data.

Question 17

Descriptive statistics focuses on summarizing data while inferential statistics deals with the selection and use of sample data to produce information about the larger population from which the sample was selected.

Question 18

The primary goal of statistics is to select data to support a particular position.

Question 19

Which of the following is that branch of statistics that focuses on summarizing and presenting data:

A)inferential statistics
B)descriptive statistics
C)statistical inference
D)report generation
E)none of the above

Question 20

Quantitative data are always numeric.

Question 21

Distinguish between a parameter and a statistic.

A)a parameter refers to a summary population characteristic; a statistic refers to a summary sample characteristic.
B)a parameter is deterministic; a statistic is probabilistic.
C)a parameter is certain; a statistic is uncertain.
D)a parameter refers to a summary sample characteristic; a statistic refers to a summary population characteristic.
E)none of the above

Question 22

Which of the following is an example of an original study:

A)setting up an experiment
B)conducting a survey
C)leading a focus group
D)conducting a product comparison
E)all of the above

Question 23

The birth weight of newborns, measured in grams, is an example of:

A)qualitative data
B)either qualitative or quantitative data
C)pounds data
D)quantitative data
E)none of the above

Question 24

In an application for a credit card, a potential customer is asked for his/her social security number.A social security number is an example of a:

A)qualitative variable
B)quantitative variable
C)qualitative or quantitative variable, depending on when the number was issued
D)ratio variable
E)time series variable

Question 25

Which variables below are qualitative rather than quantitative?

A)time to complete a job (hours)
B)number of friends
C)altitude (feet)
D)zip code
E)hourly wage ($)

Question 26

Distinguish between time series data and cross-sectional data.

A)time series data and cross-sectional are essentially the same.
B)time series data are collected at or represent the same point in time.
C)cross-sectional data are collected over time or represent values in two or more time periods.
D)time series data are collected over time or represent values in two or more time periods.
E)a and c

Question 27

Which variable(s) below are qualitative rather than quantitative?

A)telephone number
B)PIN number
C)speed (mph)
D)both a and b
E)both a and c

Question 28

For ease of data entry into a university database, 1 denotes that the student is an undergraduate and 2 indicates that the student is a graduate student.In this case data are:

A)qualitative
B)quantitative
C)either qualitative or quantitative
D)neither qualitative nor quantitative
E)time series

Question 29

Which of the following best describes the role of probability theory:

A)it is the link between descriptive statistics and inferential statistics
B)it is the link between statistics and data
C)it explains the role of chance in everyday events
D)it is used to describe various distributions of data
E)all of the above

Question 30

Which variable is usually non-numeric rather than numeric?

A)room number
B)hourly wage
C)attitude
D)bowling score
E)batting average

Question 31

The weight of a ball bearing, measured in milligrams, is an example of:

A)qualitative data
B)either qualitative or quantitative data
C)pounds data
D)quantitative data
E)none of the above

Question 32

Which of the following best describes the term "data":

A)facts or figures that are subject to summarization, analysis, and presentation
B)a collection of data with some common characteristic
C)the entities on which data are collected
D)a particular characteristic of interest for the elements
E)the set of measurements collected for a particular element

Question 33

In a job application, potential employees are asked for the phone numbers of three references.A phone number is an example of a:

A)qualitative variable
B)quantitative variable
C)qualitative or quantitative variable, depending on how the respondents answered the question
D)ratio variable
E)none of the above

Question 34

List the levels of measurement in order, lowest to highest.

A)nominal, rational, accusative, dative
B)ordinal, cardinal, literal, filial
C)ordinal, nominal, interval, ratio
D)nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio
E)nominal, interval, ordinal, ratio

Question 35

Which of the following is an example of an unethical situation:

A)biased sampling
B)throwing out data that does not support your views
C)scaling graphs to hide or diffuse what the data represents
D)using the wrong analysis method deliberately
E)all of the above

Question 36

Data collected over several time periods are:

A)time series data
B)time controlled data
C)cross-sectional data
D)timed cross-sectional data
E)none of the above

Question 37

Income is an example of

A)qualitative data
B)either qualitative or quantitative data
C)dollar data
D)quantitative data
E)none of the above

Question 38

Data collected at, or representing, the same point in time are:

A)cross-sectional data
B)time cross-sectional data
C)time series data
D)time controlled data
E)none of the above

Question 39

Which of the following best describes the deterministic view of the world:

A)there is randomness in the world
B)the world we see is essentially a world of certainty
C)given some effect, there may be a number of causes
D)the trip into school can take a different amount of time each time
E)none of the above

Question 40

In a sample of 800 students in a university, 160, or 20%, are Business majors.Based on the above information, the school's paper reported that "20% of all the students at the university are Business majors." This report is an example of:

A)a sample
B)a population
C)statistical inference
D)descriptive statistics
E)none of the above

Question 41

With a view of the world, the world we see is essentially a world of certainty.

A)probabilistic
B)deterministic
C)random
D)logical
E)pessimistic

Question 42

said "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics."

A)Charlie Brown
B)Mark Twain
C)Benjamin Disraeli
D)Charles Schultz
E)none of the above

Question 43

can be seen as the link between descriptive and inferential statistics.

A)probability theory
B)time series data
C)a population parameter
D)mathematics
E)logic

Question 44

data allows not only a rank ordering of values, but also show uniform, well-defined distances between successive values on the measurement scale.

A)nominal
B)ordinal
C)interval
D)ratio
E)descriptive