A waitress is interested in whether she receives larger tips in general from her male customers than her female customers. She records the gender of the customer who paid the bill and the amount of the tip over a two-day period. Statistically speaking, the "noise" in this research scenario would be
A) the difference between the average tip amounts received on the first and second days.
B) the fluctuation in tip amounts received from male customers during the two-day period.
C) the difference between the average tip amounts received from the male and female customers.
D) the fluctuation in tip amounts received from the male and female customers.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The "noise" in this research scenario would be the fluctuation in tip amounts received from the male and female customers. This is because there could be many factors that influence the tip amount, such as the quality of service, the size of the group, the type of food ordered, etc. Therefore, to isolate the effect of the customer's gender on the tip amount, the researcher needs to control for these factors and look at the overall trend in tips received from male and female customers. Any fluctuation in tip amounts could be attributed to random variability or measurement error.

A Waitress Is Interested in Whether She Receives Larger Tips