Martin has decided to do a study of how much students spend on textbooks. Which of the following would be the most reliable measure of the cost of a student's textbooks?
A) Looking at their bookstore receipt
B) Asking the students how much they spent on books
C) Calculating an average cost of books per discipline
D) Counting the number of books bought by each student

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Looking at the bookstore receipt would provide an accurate and objective measure of how much a student spent on textbooks, whereas asking students how much they spent may not be accurate as they may not remember, may not include all their textbooks, or may exaggerate/inflate the cost. Calculating an average cost per discipline or counting the number of books bought would not give an accurate measure of an individual student's textbook cost.

Martin Has Decided to Do a Study of How Much