Deck 2: Reading the News

Question 1

Which of the following describes possible origins of news stories?

A)Academic conferences
B)Scholarly journals
C)Government and private agency reports
D)All of the above

Answer 1

All of the above

Question 2

Every academic discipline holds a(n) __________, usually annually, in which researchers can share their results with others.Reporters routinely attend them to look for interesting news stories.

Answer 2

conference

Question 3

Which of the following are examples of data?

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.

Answer 3

All of the above.

Question 4

Which of the following is true about statistics?

A)Numbers don't lie.All statistics have to be believed.
B)Statistics can be made to say whatever you want them to say.No statistic should be believed.
C)Any statistic that is based on data is likely to be correct.
D)All statistics should be carefully scrutinized before determining whether or not they can be believed.Some are correct, and some are not.

Question 5

Give one example of where a news story involving a statistical study can originate.

Question 6

How do reporters find stories based on statistical studies in their areas of interest?

A)Routinely reading scholarly journals.
B)Attending academic conferences.
C)Watching for government reports.
D)All of the above.

Question 7

Suppose you hear a news story about a Harvard University study on teenage binge drinking and you want to find out more information.Who or what source can you contact (besides the writer of the news article)?

Question 8

Explain briefly what it means to be an educated consumer of data.

Question 9

Name one way in which you can encounter stories whose conclusions are based on data.

Question 10

One of the goals of this course is to help you become an educated consumer of data.Name one way in which you 'consume' data.

Question 11

Why is it difficult to be an educated consumer of data in today's 'age of sound bytes'?

Question 12

Which of the following is the best definition of the term 'data'?

A)Any number, such as 1, 3, or 10.
B)Numbers such as 1 and 10 and words such as yes or no.
C)Any number or other piece of information to which meaning has been attached.
D)None of the above.

Question 13

How you determine whether or not to believe a statistic you come across depends on what?

A)How the data were collected.
B)How the data were measured.
C)How the data were summarized.
D)All of the above.

Question 14

__________ is a collection of numbers or other pieces of information to which meaning has been attached (such as your height in inches or your gender).

Question 15

One source of news stories about statistical studies involves in-depth research reports provided by government and private agencies.Name one disadvantage of these types of reports.

Question 16

What is one of the problems with news stories based on conference presentations?

Question 17

Which of the following would not necessarily be considered a good source for a news story?

A)A peer-reviewed journal
B)A government report
C)A press release
D)Another newspaper story

Question 18

A(n) __________ summarizes the information from a study so that journalists don't have to be as versed in the technical aspects of the research to write a good story.

Question 19

Which of the following would give a news reporter the best and most comprehensive foundation for a news story involving a statistical study?

A)A press release gives everything they need because it's written just for them.
B)Another newspaper article written by a competitor.
C)An article in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal, accompanied by a press release.
D)A conference presentation given by the researchers themselves.

Question 20

The__________ we can attach to data and to the resulting conclusions depends on how well the information was acquired and summarized.

Question 21

Using volunteers for a study introduces problems in the form of __________.

Question 22

Suppose you find out that a certain drug reduces side effects of a certain therapy by 50 percent.Assuming the study was conducted properly, explain why this statistic of 50% may not be as meaningful as it sounds.

Question 23

Suppose you want to compare per capita income for the U.S.vs.all other countries and you use per capita income figures from last year's World Almanac and exchange rates from last Friday's financial pages.Which of the following components of a good news report is being affected most?

A)The setting of the study.
B)The nature of the measurements used.
C)The way the sample was selected.
D)The source of the research and the way it is funded.

Question 24

When you see the phrase 'of those who responded' in reference to the results of a survey, what do you need to worry about? Explain your answer.

Question 25

Which of the following components of a good news report cannot be controlled by the researcher?

A)The exact nature of the measurements made.
B)The individuals or objects studied and how they were selected.
C)The differences in the groups being compared, in addition to the factor of interest.
D)The amount of difference in the actual results.

Question 26

The people who are most likely to respond to a volunteer response survey are those who have a strong __________ about the questions being asked.

Question 27

Give an example of how the timing of a survey can easily bias the results of a study.

Question 28

In a survey, both the wording and the__________ of the questions can influence answers.

Question 29

Which of the following is not an important component of a good news report regarding a statistical study?

A)The source of the research.
B)Who paid for the research.
C)The extent or size of any claimed effects or differences.
D)All of the above are important components.

Question 30

Surveys relying on voluntary responses are likely to be __________ because only those who feel strongly about the issues are likely to respond.

Question 31

Why is it important to know how the individuals or objects in a study were selected?

A)It is important to know to whom the results can be extended.
B)It is important for determining whether or not there is bias in the results.
C)Both a) and b) are true.
D)It is not important to know how the individuals were selected; only the size of the sample matters.

Question 32

A social worker wants to determine the extent to which people remember a tragedy (like September 11).She conducts a survey of a random sample of students in the General Psychology 101 course at her university.To whom can these results be generalized?

Question 33

A psychology student conducts a study to measure the amount of motivation students have for their math courses.She hands out a survey in every math class at her school on the day before spring break.What is the problem with her sampling process?

Question 34

Explain why it is important to find out not only who conducted a study, but also who funded the study.

Question 35

Your book lists three major reasons that studies are conducted.Name one of them.

Question 36

Suppose a group of students who reported smoking marijuana was found to have lower test scores than a group of students who reported they don't smoke marijuana.What is the most that can be concluded with regard to the population of all students?

A)Smoking marijuana causes lower test scores.
B)Smoking marijuana may be related to lower test scores.
C)Students who smoke marijuana have lower test scores than students who don't.
D)None of the above.

Question 37

In the case of a cola taste test, explain why it is important that both the researchers and the participants be blind as to which brands are which.

Question 38

A survey of female readers of a certain women's magazine showed that of those responding, slightly over 90% answered no to the question: 'If you had it to do over again, would you marry the same man?' What does this mean to you, as an educated consumer of data?

A)It means that the overwhelming majority of married women regret marrying their spouse.
B)It means you should find out what percentage of the readers responded before you decide anything.
C)It means little or nothing; this survey is too biased to be credible.
D)None of the above.

Question 39

Which of the following components of a good news report does not pertain to the issue of bias?

A)Knowing the source of the research and of the funding.
B)Knowing how the individuals or objects studies were selected.
C)Understanding any differences in the groups being compared, in addition to the factor of interest.
D)All of these relate to the issue of bias.

Question 40

Why is it important to know about any differences in two groups being compared, in addition to the factor of interest?

A)If the groups are too different, it becomes difficult to see the effects that are due only to the factor of interest.
B)If the groups are too similar, then any difference found in the factor must be simply due to chance.
C)Unless there is a big difference in the results, it doesn't matter whether or not the groups themselves are different.
D)None of the above.

Question 41

For Questions use the following narrative
Narrative: Supermarket pricing
Suppose you are interested in determining which of three local supermarkets has the best prices so you can decide where to shop.
{Supermarket pricing narrative} What are the objects studied in this example?

Question 42

Which of the following is a well worded survey question for determining a voter's opinion on a tax increase for education?

A)Would you be willing to agree to a small tax increase that would help the education of our children?
B)Do you agree with a tax increase for education?
C)How do you feel about a tax increase for education (agree, disagree, neutral)?
D)All of the above are well worded questions.

Question 43

For Questions use the following narrative
Narrative: Supermarket pricing
Suppose you are interested in determining which of three local supermarkets has the best prices so you can decide where to shop.
{Supermarket pricing narrative} Explain briefly how you would use the results of your study to decide where to shop after the study is done.

Question 44

What type of sample would give the most unbiased data?

A)A volunteer response sample.
B)A random sample.
C)A sample with a high number of respondents.
D)None of the above.

Question 45

Sometimes jury trials use__________ as expert witnesses to point out strengths or weaknesses in surveys or experiments used as evidence in the trial.

Question 46

What impact can nonrespondents have on survey results?

A)The nonrespondents will have a negative impact; the results of the survey will be biased toward the opinions of the respondents.
B)The nonrespondents will have no effect because they didn't respond to the survey.
C)The nonrespondents will have a positive impact; without them, the results of the survey will be more dramatic and more likely to be picked up by the news media.
D)None of the above.

Question 47

The time to consider the seven components of a good statistical study is __________ the study has been (is being) conducted.

Question 48

Which of the following is a true statement?

A)You can't totally eliminate bias in a study, no matter what you do.
B)If you do everything right, you will come out with the right conclusion every time when using statistics.
C)You don't need all seven of the components of a good study in order to be confident in your results; you only need most of them.
D)All of the above are true statements.

Question 49

For Questions use the following narrative
Narrative: Supermarket pricing
Suppose you are interested in determining which of three local supermarkets has the best prices so you can decide where to shop.
{Supermarket pricing narrative} Discuss one of the issues that would come up when defining the cost of an item in a supermarket and how you would handle it as the researcher.

Question 50

For Questions use the following narrative
Narrative: Supermarket pricing
Suppose you are interested in determining which of three local supermarkets has the best prices so you can decide where to shop.
{Supermarket pricing narrative} Suppose you are approached by one of the supermarkets and they said they would fund your study if they would be allowed to select the products for price comparison.Which of the seven critical components of a good study is at issue here?