Question 1

At the end of the school term, students are asked to rate the course and instructor by indicating on a scale of 1-5 how well they liked the course. The data generated from this question are examples of ordinal data.

Accepted Answer

Ordinal data is characterized by the order or ranking of the data points without a precise difference between them, which aligns with the rating scale of 1-5 where each number represents a level of liking, but the intervals between the numbers are not necessarily equal.

Question 2

A variable, i.e., the length of time it takes for an employee to complete an assembly procedure at an automotive plant, is a ratio level variable.

Accepted Answer

The length of time it takes for an employee to complete an assembly procedure is a ratio level variable because it has a true zero point (0 minutes means no time taken), and the differences between values are meaningful, allowing for a full range of mathematical operations.

Question 3

The use of charts and graphs is an example of:

Accepted Answer

Charts and graphs are tools used in descriptive statistics to summarize and visually present the distribution, central tendency, and dispersion of a dataset.

Question 4

A small engine repair shop tracks the number of customers who call each day. This variable is a time- series variable and also ratio level.

Accepted Answer

The number of customers who call each day is a time-series variable because it is data collected or recorded at successive points in time. It is also ratio level because it has a true zero point (days when no customers call) and the differences between values are meaningful, allowing for comparisons like twice as many calls.

Question 5

Flavors of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, etc.) are an example of nominal data.

Accepted Answer

Nominal data refers to data that is categorized without a natural order or ranking, and flavors of ice cream are categorized by name without any inherent order, fitting the definition of nominal data.

Question 6

When a marketing manager surveys a few of the customers for the purpose of drawing a conclusion about the entire list of customers, she is applying:

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics involves making predictions or inferences about a larger population based on a sample of data taken from that population. In this scenario, the marketing manager is using a sample (a few customers) to draw conclusions about the entire customer base, which is a classic application of inferential statistics.

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of graphs used to describe data?

Accepted Answer

Histograms and bar charts are both types of graphs used to describe and visualize data, making both A and B correct.

Question 8

When the park ranger at Yellowstone National Park reports the average length of time that visitors spend in the park, he is using:

Accepted Answer

The park ranger is using numerical measures to report the average length of time that visitors spend in the park.

Question 9

A cell phone service provider has 14,000 customers. Recently, the sales department selected a random sample of 400 customer accounts and recorded the number of minutes of long distance time used during the previous billing period. The company analyst used Excel to sort these values in order from high to low. She then assigned the highest value a rank of 1, the next highest value a rank of 2, and so forth. These ranks would be considered to be ordinal data.

Accepted Answer

Ordinal data is characterized by the order of values, but not the exact difference between them. Ranking the long distance time from highest to lowest creates an ordered dataset without specifying the precise difference in usage between ranks, fitting the definition of ordinal data.

Question 10

A survey conducted by a local real estate agency asked respondents to indicate whether they preferred natural gas, electric, or oil furnaces for heating their home. The data collected for this variable would be of ordinal level.

Accepted Answer

The data collected from this survey would be considered nominal, as it categorizes preferences into distinct groups without any inherent order or ranking.

Question 11

Recently, a bank manager pulled a sample of customer accounts and recorded data for two variables, checking account balance and total number of transactions during the previous 30 days. The data collected would be considered time-series data.

Accepted Answer

The data collected is cross-sectional, as it captures a snapshot of different subjects (customer accounts) at a single point in time, rather than tracking the same subject across multiple time periods.

Question 12

A major fast-food chain has installed a device that measures the temperature of the hamburgers on the grill. These data are stored in a computer file. If you were to analyze these data, you would be working with ordinal level data.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A major fast-food chain has installed a...

Question 13

The difference between interval data and ratio data is that interval data has a natural zero.

Accepted Answer

Interval data does not have a natural zero point, whereas ratio data does have a natural zero point, indicating the absence of the quantity being measured.

Question 14

When an administrator at a local hospital prepares a series of charts and graphs pertaining to the patients that have stayed at the hospital during the past month, she is using which general category of statistical analysis?

Accepted Answer

Descriptive statistics involve methods for summarizing and organizing data, such as charts and graphs, to describe the characteristics of a dataset.

Question 15

If you have an ordinal variable, it is possible to precisely measure the magnitude of the difference between the possible values of the variable.

Accepted Answer

Ordinal variables allow for rank ordering of the data but do not precisely quantify the magnitude of difference between the ranks.

Question 16

Cross-sectional data is a set of data values observed at successive points in time.

Accepted Answer

Cross-sectional data refers to data collected at a single point in time, contrasting with time series data, which is collected across multiple points in time.

Question 17

On a survey, amount of education is recorded as some high school, high school graduate, some college, college graduate, etc. This is an example of ordinal data.

Accepted Answer

Ordinal data is a type of categorical data with a set order or scale to it. The categories of education level listed (some high school, high school graduate, some college, college graduate, etc.) have a natural order from least to most education, making this an example of ordinal data.

Question 18

Data collected on marital status (married, divorced, single, other) would be an ordinal level variable.

Accepted Answer

Marital status is a nominal level variable because it categorizes individuals without implying any order or rank among the categories.

Question 19

A variable that has all the properties of an interval variable, but also has a true zero, is a ratio level variable.

Accepted Answer

A ratio level variable not only has the properties of an interval variable, such as equal intervals between values, but also includes a true zero point, indicating the absence of the quantity being measured.

Question 20

A cell phone service provider has 14,000 customers. Recently, the sales department selected a random sample of 400 customer accounts and recorded the number of minutes of long distance time used during the previous billing period. The data for this variable is considered to be nominal since the values are based on sample data.

Accepted Answer

The data for the number of minutes of long distance time used is considered to be ratio data, not nominal, because it represents quantifiable amounts that can be ordered and have a true zero point.

Quiz 1: The Where, Why, and How of Data Collection