Quiz Over Chapter 5 of the 6th Edition


Foundations of Inferential Statistics

Statistical Inference
  1. If a researcher has absolutely no interest beyond the specific data he/she collects, there is no need whatsoever for any statistical techniques that are inferential in nature.
    2. True
    False
  2. The purpose of inferential statistics is to make scientific guesses as to the value of the unknown sample statistic on the basis of the value of the known population parameter.
    3. True
    False
  3. What does statistical inference involve, proving things or making educated guesses?
    Proving things
    Making educated guesses
  4. Suppose 4 books are pulled off a library shelf containing 25 books, with those 4 books considered to be the sample. Would the population in this example be a "tangible" population or an "abstract" population?
    5. Tangible
    Abstract
The Concepts of Statistics and Parameter
  1. The statistical focus in section "a" of Figure 5.1 is different from the statistical focus in section "b."
    2. True
    False
  2. The symbol s is used to denote the population's mean whereas the symbol mis used to denote the population's standard deviation.
    3. True
    False
  3. The Greek letter ___ denotes Pearson's product-moment correlation in the population.
    4. a
    b
    r
    p
    g
  4. In inferential statistics, the sample statistic & the population parameter MUST deal with the same concept (e.g., if the statistic is the mean, then the parameter must be the mean).
    5. True
    False
  5. N is to s as n is to __.
    s
    M
    f
    F
    p
Types of Samples
  1. If every object in the population has an equal chance of being selected for inclusion in the sample, then the word ______ describes the way in which the sample was selected.
    2. standardized
    egalitarian
    unbiased
    uniform
    random
  2. The notion of a "sampling frame" comes into play only when the population is tangible.
    3. True
    False
  3. Quota samples and random samples are examples of "probability samples" whereas snowball samples and convenience samples are examples of "nonprobability samples."LI>
    True
    False
  4. If a stratified random sample of 100 people is extracted from a gender-stratified population containing 60% females and 40% males, how many males will there be in the sample?
    5. Exactly 40
    Approximately 40
    Perhaps none, perhaps 100, or any number between 0 and 100
  5. If an instructor collected data from everyone enrolled in his/her class, and if those data were then treated as if they had come from a sample, what would be the official name for this kind of sample?
    6. Convenience
    Quota
    systematic
  6. On the surface (but only on the surface), a quota sample looks somewhat like a __________ sample.
    7. purposive
    snowball
    stratified
The Problems of Low Response Rate, Refusals to Participate, and Attrition
  1. What term is used to denote the percentage of people who return a mailed suvey or questionnaire?
    2. empirical rate
    response rate
    sampling rate
  2. If a mailed questionnaire is sent to a random sample of individuals in a population, the problem of low response rate cannot logically develop.
    3. True
    False
  3. In studies involving a mailed questionnaire, researchers can't do anything to bring about a high response rate and must "live with" whatever response rate they get.
    4. True
    False
  4. The possible problem of a _________ can be investigated by comparing (a) responses from a sample of folks who initially do not respond with (b) responses from those folks who initially did respond.
    5. data distortion
    nonresponse bias
    skewed sample
  5. Some researchers use the word ________ to mean the same thing as "attrition."
    6. mortality
    shrinkage
    truncation
  6. In Excerpt 5.18, the response rate was equal to
    12.3%
    49.3%
    50.7%
A Few Warnings
  1. The first warning advises you to be on guard when reading research articles because there may be a mismatch between _____ and the destination of the inferential claims.
    2. the kinds of statistical techniques used
    the source of the researcher's data
    the investigator's hypotheses
  2. If a researcher has a population of 1,000 individuals, which of these samples would be better than the other?
    3. A probability sample of 50 individuals
    A nonprobability sample of 300 individuals
  3. Suppose a researcher shuffles well a deck of playing cards and then blindly gives a card to each member of a group of 50 individuals.  Also suppose that the researcher then collects data from those folks who received a diamond (but not from those who received a club, a heart, or a spade).  In the research report, what should the researcher say about selecting the sample?
    4. That a random sample of the 50 individuals was taken
    That a well-shuffled deck of cards was used to select the random sample of the 50 individuals
  4. In the next-to-last sentence in the next-to-last paragraph on page 111, the claim is made that "you will encounter technical write-ups in which the researchers emphasize their analytical skills to the near exclusion of a clear explanation of _______________ or _______________."
    5. previous research findings; their hunches
    reliability; validity
    where their data came from; to whom the results apply

 

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