Question 1

Give an example of a measurement that is reliable but not valid.

Accepted Answer

One which gives repeatable results but is not an appropriate measure.Example: using a very precise bathroom scale to measure percentage of body fat.

Question 2

A (an) __________ question is one in which respondents are allowed to answer in their own words.

Accepted Answer

open

Question 3

When reading about a statistical study involving the amount of stress in a person's life, be sure to find out exactly how stress was __________ by the researchers before deciding whether or not these results are credible.

Accepted Answer

measured or defined

Question 4

Which of the following are examples of measurements?

Accepted Answer

A) The gender of each member of your statistics class. 
B) Your opinion on whether smoking should be banned in all public places (support, oppose, no opinion). 
C) The number of deaths in each state in a given year due to accidents. 
D) All of the above. 
A) The gender of each member of your statistics class. 
B) Your opinion on whether smoking should be banned in all public places (support, oppose, no opinion). 
C) The number of deaths in each state in a given year due to accidents. 
D) All of the above.

Question 5

If you tried to measure happiness by using an IQ test, which of the following aspects of a good measurement would you be violating?

Accepted Answer

A) Validity 
B) Reliability 
C) Unbiasedness 
D) None of the above. 
A) Validity 
B) Reliability 
C) Unbiasedness 
D) None of the above.

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of an open question?

Accepted Answer

A) "Which of the following four issues do you feel is the most important problem facing this country today? If you prefer, you may name a different problem as most important; simply choose 'other' and explain your answer." (Four choices are given, plus 'other'.) 
B) "Don't you think it's time that we faced the fact that unemployment is the biggest problem facing this country today?" (Choices are: yes, no, no opinion.) 
C) "What do you feel is the most important problem facing this country today?" (No choices offered; participant must fill in the blank.) 
D) None of the above. 
A) "Which of the following four issues do you feel is the most important problem facing this country today? If you prefer, you may name a different problem as most important; simply choose 'other' and explain your answer." (Four choices are given, plus 'other'.) 
B) "Don't you think it's time that we faced the fact that unemployment is the biggest problem facing this country today?" (Choices are: yes, no, no opinion.) 
C) "What do you feel is the most important problem facing this country today?" (No choices offered; participant must fill in the blank.) 
D) None of the above.

Question 7

What is the biggest problem with having open questions on a survey or in an experiment?

Accepted Answer

A) The participants' responses are difficult to summarize or categorize. 
B) You have to worry more about how an open question is worded than how a closed question is worded. 
C) There is no problem with open questions; they provide the most accurate information about how a person really feels. 
D) None of the above. 
A) The participants' responses are difficult to summarize or categorize. 
B) You have to worry more about how an open question is worded than how a closed question is worded. 
C) There is no problem with open questions; they provide the most accurate information about how a person really feels. 
D) None of the above.

Question 8

What can happen if you don't define your measurement properly?

Accepted Answer

A) Your data could contain bias. 
B) Your data could be inaccurate and inconsistent. 
C) Your results could be questioned in a court of law. 
D) All of the above. 
A) Your data could contain bias. 
B) Your data could be inaccurate and inconsistent. 
C) Your results could be questioned in a court of law. 
D) All of the above.

Question 9

Explain the following statement: "The more variability there is within each group, the more difficult it is to detect a difference between groups."

Accepted Answer

Suppose you were comparing men's heights

Question 10

What is the biggest problem with having closed questions on a survey or in an experiment?

Accepted Answer

A) The choice of possible answers is critical and if not done properly, can lead to misleading information. 
B) The participants' responses are hard to categorize or summarize. 
C) There is no problem with closed questions; they provide the most accurate information by offering certain explicit choices. 
D) You have to worry more about how a closed question is worded than how an open question is worded. 
A) The choice of possible answers is critical and if not done properly, can lead to misleading information. 
B) The participants' responses are hard to categorize or summarize. 
C) There is no problem with closed questions; they provide the most accurate information by offering certain explicit choices. 
D) You have to worry more about how a closed question is worded than how an open question is worded.

Question 11

When you read about measurements taken by someone else, you should not assume that they are measuring things the same way you think they should be measured.Give an example from the media where this problem might come up.

Accepted Answer

Researchers measure things differently;

Question 12

__________ variables are those for which each individual can be placed into a group but the groups may not have any logical ordering.

Accepted Answer

The answer of __________ variables are those for which each...

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of a closed question?

Accepted Answer

A) "Which of the following four issues do you feel is the most important problem facing this country today? If you prefer, you may name a different problem as most important; simply choose 'other' and explain your answer." (Four choices are given, plus 'other'.) 
B) "Write down in one or two sentences how you feel about this statement: The biggest problem facing our nation today is a lack of presidential leadership." 
C) "What do you feel is the most important problem facing this country today?" (No choices offered; participant must fill in the blank.) 
D) None of the above. 
A) "Which of the following four issues do you feel is the most important problem facing this country today? If you prefer, you may name a different problem as most important; simply choose 'other' and explain your answer." (Four choices are given, plus 'other'.) 
B) "Write down in one or two sentences how you feel about this statement: The biggest problem facing our nation today is a lack of presidential leadership." 
C) "What do you feel is the most important problem facing this country today?" (No choices offered; participant must fill in the blank.) 
D) None of the above.

Question 14

If a survey is __________ then the researcher can attach your name to your survey results, but promises not to release that information.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If a survey is __________ then the...

Question 15

Suppose you designed a survey with only closed questions, and for each question you included 'other' as one of the possible answers.Suppose for one of the questions you found that 75% of the respondents chose 'other'.Explain why this is not a good thing, and what could have been done to prevent it.

Accepted Answer

this is not good because the most popula

Question 16

What is important for you to do as a good consumer of statistical information, when examining studies involving hard to measure items such as stress, happiness, or hunger?

Accepted Answer

make sure you are informed abo

Question 17

How important is the wording of the question in terms of getting a good measurement in a survey or experiment?

Accepted Answer

A) Extremely important.Poorly worded questions can lead to bias and inaccuracy. 
B) Only somewhat important; it's the essence of the issue that matters. 
C) It shouldn't matter at all.A question is a question. 
D) It depends on the situation. 
A) Extremely important.Poorly worded questions can lead to bias and inaccuracy. 
B) Only somewhat important; it's the essence of the issue that matters. 
C) It shouldn't matter at all.A question is a question. 
D) It depends on the situation.

Question 18

Explain why it is important as a consumer of statistical information to find out whether the questions on a survey or experiment were asked in an open or closed form.

Accepted Answer

this is important in terms of

Question 19

Explain the difference between confidentiality and anonymity in a survey situation.

Accepted Answer

if the survey is confidential,

Question 20

How can a measurement lead to misleading results in a survey?

Accepted Answer

A) If the measurement leaves out obvious other possible choices. 
B) If the 'no opinion' or 'neutral' results are combined with either the positive or negative results to make that group appear larger than it really is. 
C) If the questions are worded in a misleading way. 
D) All of the above. 
A) If the measurement leaves out obvious other possible choices. 
B) If the 'no opinion' or 'neutral' results are combined with either the positive or negative results to make that group appear larger than it really is. 
C) If the questions are worded in a misleading way. 
D) All of the above.

Exam 3: Measurements, Mistakes, and Misunderstandings

Give an example of a measurement that is reliable but not valid.

A (an) __________ question is one in which respondents are allowed to answer in their own words.

When reading about a statistical study involving the amount of stress in a person's life, be sure to find out exactly how stress was __________ by the researchers before deciding whether or not these results are credible.

Which of the following are examples of measurements?

If you tried to measure happiness by using an IQ test, which of the following aspects of a good measurement would you be violating?

Which of the following is an example of an open question?

What is the biggest problem with having open questions on a survey or in an experiment?

What can happen if you don't define your measurement properly?

Explain the following statement: "The more variability there is within each group, the more difficult it is to detect a difference between groups."

What is the biggest problem with having closed questions on a survey or in an experiment?

When you read about measurements taken by someone else, you should not assume that they are measuring things the same way you think they should be measured.Give an example from the media where this problem might come up.

__________ variables are those for which each individual can be placed into a group but the groups may not have any logical ordering.

Which of the following is an example of a closed question?

If a survey is __________ then the researcher can attach your name to your survey results, but promises not to release that information.

Suppose you designed a survey with only closed questions, and for each question you included 'other' as one of the possible answers.Suppose for one of the questions you found that 75% of the respondents chose 'other'.Explain why this is not a good thing, and what could have been done to prevent it.

What is important for you to do as a good consumer of statistical information, when examining studies involving hard to measure items such as stress, happiness, or hunger?

How important is the wording of the question in terms of getting a good measurement in a survey or experiment?

Explain why it is important as a consumer of statistical information to find out whether the questions on a survey or experiment were asked in an open or closed form.

Explain the difference between confidentiality and anonymity in a survey situation.

How can a measurement lead to misleading results in a survey?

The Benefits and Risks of Using Statistics

Reading the News

How to Get a Good Sample

Experiments and Observational Studies

Getting the Big Picture

Summarizing and Displaying Measurement Data

Bell-Shaped Curves and Other Shapes

Plots, Graphs, and Pictures

Relationships Between Measurement Variables

Relationships Can Be Deceiving

Relationships Between Categorical Variables

Statistical Significance for 2 2 Tables

Understanding Probability and Long-Term Expectations

Understanding Uncertainty Through Simulation

Psychological Influences on Personal Probability

When Intuition Differs From Relative Frequency

Understanding the Economic News

The Diversity of Samples From the Same Population

Estimating Proportions With Confidence

The Role of Confidence Intervals in Research

Rejecting Chancetesting Hypotheses in Research

Hypothesis Testingexamples and Case Studies

Significance, Importance, and Undetected Differences

Meta-Analysis: Resolving Inconsistencies Across Studies

Ethics in Statistical Studies

Putting What You Have Learned to the Test

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