MediumStatistics & Data ScienceHigh School (9–10)High School (11–12)UndergraduateGeneralStatistics Basics › Study Design and ExperimentsStatistics Basics › Data and SamplingConceptual
A youth club writes this question for its members: "How old are you, and do you enjoy our wonderful…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A youth club writes this question for its members: "How old are you, and do you enjoy our wonderful Friday games? Tick one: 10 to 12, 12 to 14, 14 to 16." Find three faults in the question. Then rewrite it as two good questions.
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
A survey asks, an observational study watches, and an experiment imposes a treatment. The explanatory variable is the possible cause and the response variable is the outcome. In an observational study, gap seen = real effect + the part due to who chose.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Fault 1. Two questions in one. It asks about age and about the games together.
Fault 2. A loaded word. "Wonderful" pushes towards yes.
Fault 3. The age choices. They overlap at 12 and at 14, and they leave out anyone under 10 or over 16.
A better pair of questions.
- How old are you? Tick one: under 10, 10 to 12, 13 to 15, 16 or over.
- How much do you enjoy the Friday games? Tick one: very much, a little, not much, not at all.
What if? Try the new questions on three members first, as a pilot, before giving them to everyone.
Discussion (0)
Log in to join the discussion.
Loading…