Question 1

Which of the following is true about using a mean drawn from a simple random sample to estimate a population mean?

Accepted Answer

The accuracy of using a sample mean to estimate a population mean is more significantly influenced by the size of the sample rather than the size of the population. A larger sample size tends to yield a more accurate estimate of the population mean, regardless of the population size.

Question 2

Which of the following descriptive statistics is most influenced by outliers?

Accepted Answer

The mean is most influenced by outliers because it is calculated by summing all values and dividing by the number of values, so extreme values can significantly affect the result.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a measure of dispersion?

Accepted Answer

The median is a measure of central tendency, not dispersion. Measures of dispersion include the range, standard deviation, and variance, which describe the spread of data points.

Question 4

An instructor has collected data about the majors of each of the students in her class. Which of the following will be the best method of presenting these data?

Accepted Answer

A stem and leaf plot is best for presenting categorical data such as majors of students, as it allows for a clear, organized display of the data. Mean, variance, and standard deviation are measures used for quantitative data, not for categorical data like majors.

Question 5

Which descriptive statistic would best portray the central tendency of the following distribution (1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 1000)?

Accepted Answer

The median is the best measure of central tendency for this distribution because it is not affected by the extreme value (1000). The median, being the middle value when the data is ordered, accurately represents the central tendency of the distribution without being skewed by outliers.

Question 6

In terms of age, a twelve-year-old college student can probably be considered to be which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A twelve-year-old college student is significantly younger than the typical college student age range, making them an outlier in terms of age distribution.

Question 7

The pattern of scores observed on a measured variable is known as the

Accepted Answer

The pattern of scores observed on a measured variable is referred to as the distribution. This term describes how often each value occurs, showing the spread and shape of the data.

Question 8

Which of the following represents the major disadvantage of snowball sampling?

Accepted Answer

Snowball sampling can lead to sampling bias because it relies on existing study participants to recruit further participants, which can result in a non-representative sample that shares similar characteristics or views.

Question 9

Which of the following types of samples is most likely to result in sampling bias?

Accepted Answer

Convenience sampling is most likely to result in sampling bias because it involves selecting samples based on ease of access rather than random selection, which can lead to a sample that is not representative of the entire population.

Question 10

A report indicates that a survey is accurate within "plus or minus 1 percent." This statement refers to which of the following?

Accepted Answer

The statement "plus or minus 1 percent" refers to the margin of error, which quantifies the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results.

Question 11

Which of the following is an advantage of using an unstructured interview?

Accepted Answer

Unstructured interviews allow respondents to express their true feelings and thoughts more freely than structured interviews, which can lead to more in-depth and qualitative insights. This is because unstructured interviews do not follow a strict set of questions, allowing for more open-ended responses.

Question 12

A statistical table that indicates how many individuals in the sample fall into each set of categories on a quantitative variable is a

Accepted Answer

The answer of A statistical table that indicates how many...

Question 13

Imagine a visual chart that uses bars to represent the frequency of occurrence of individuals in the following categories of height: under 60 inches; 60 to 66 inches; 66 to 72 inches; over 72 inches. This chart would represent a(n)

Accepted Answer

The answer of Imagine a visual chart that uses bars...

Question 14

Range, mean deviation, sum of squares, variance-which of the following statistics also belongs in this group?

Accepted Answer

Standard deviation is a measure of the dispersion or spread of a set of data points around the mean, similar to range, mean deviation, sum of squares, and variance. It is calculated as the square root of the variance, making it directly related to the other statistics listed.

Question 15

The margin of error is most closely related to which of the following statistics?

Accepted Answer

The margin of error is most closely related to the confidence interval, as it quantifies the amount of uncertainty in an estimate of a population parameter. The margin of error is used to create the interval around the sample statistic where the true population parameter is expected to lie, given a certain level of confidence.

Question 16

The raw data refer to

Accepted Answer

Raw data refers to the original unanalyzed data collected from experiments, surveys, or observations before any processing or analysis has been done.

Question 17

The entire group of people the researcher is interested in learning about is known as the __________, whereas the group of people that actually participate in the research is known as the __________.

Accepted Answer

The population is the entire group of people a researcher is interested in, while the sample is the subset of the population that participates in the research.

Question 18

A graphic display of a frequency distribution that uses a line rather than bars is called a

Accepted Answer

A frequency curve is a graphical representation of a frequency distribution using a line, which differentiates it from histograms and bar charts that use bars.

Question 19

Which of the following is a graphic display of the frequency distribution of a nominal variable?

Accepted Answer

A bar chart is used to display the frequency distribution of nominal (categorical) variables, where each category is represented by a bar showing its frequency or count.

Question 20

Which of the following refers to numbers that summarize the pattern of scores observed on a measured variable?

Accepted Answer

Descriptive statistics include measures that summarize the pattern of scores observed on a variable, such as mean, median, mode, range, and standard deviation.

Quiz 6: Surveys and Sampling