Section 1 - SAILS / DUAL CREDIT



Section 1.1 – Introduction to the Practice of StatisticsIdentify Objective 1:What is Statistics?What is Data? And what are the two categories of data? Identify Objective 2:What is a population?What is an individual?What is a sample?List the four steps in the process of statistics:1.What must be true about the questions?2.Why do we typically look at a sample when doing research?3.What is a statistic?What is descriptive statistics? And what types of information does it describe?4.What is inferential statistics?What is a parameter?Example: A news service conducted a survey of 1,001 adults ages 18 years or older in a certain country, August 31- September 2, 2009. The respondents were asked, “Of every tax dollar that goes to the federal government, how many cents of each dollar would you say are wasted?” Of the 1,001 individuals surveyed, 38% indicated that 51 cents or more is wasted. The news service reported that 38% of all adults in the country 18 years or older believe the federal government wastes at least 51 cents of each dollar spent, with a margin of error of 5% and a 95% level of confidence. (a) Identify the research objective:(b) What is the population?(c) Identify the sample:(d) List the descriptive statistics: (e) What can be inferred from this survey? Identify Objective 3:Variables are the characteristics of the _____________ within a ______________.What are the two groups that variables can be classified in?**What do qualitative variables allow for and give an example of one?What do quantitative variables provide and what kinds of operations can be done?Example: Distinguishing between Qualitative and Quantitative variablesResearcher Elisabeth Kvaavik and others studied factors that affect the eating habits of adults in their mid-thirties. (Source: Kvaavik E, et. al. Psychological explanatorys of eating habits among adults in their mid-30’s (2005) International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2)9.) Classify each of the following variables considered in the study as qualitative or quantitative. a.Nationality ____________________________b. Number of children ____________________________c.Household income in the previous year ____________________________d.Level of education ____________________________e.Daily intake of whole grains (measured in grams per day) ____________________________Identify Objective 4:What is a discrete variable and what types of values does it have?What does it mean to be “countable”?What is a continuous variable? Is it countable?Example: Determine whether the following is discrete or continuous.1. The number of heads obtained from flipping a coin five times:_______________2. The number of cars that arrive at a McDonald’s drive-thru between 12:00 pm and 1:00pm: ______________3. The distance a car can travel in city driving conditions with a full tank of gas: _______________Identify Objective 5:What makes a variable be at the nominal level of measurement? What is true about the naming scheme?What makes a variable be at the ordinal level of measurement? What is true about the naming scheme?What makes a variable be at the interval level of measurement? What does a value of zero mean?What makes a variable be at the ratio level of measurement? What does a value of zero mean?Example: Determining the Level of Measurement of a VariableA study was conducted to assess school eating patterns in high schools in the United States. The study analyzed the impact of vending machines and school policies on student food consumption. A total of 1088 students in 20 schools were surveyed. (Source: Neumark-Sztainer D, French SA, Hannan PJ, Story M and Fulkerson JA (2005) School lunch and snacking patterns among high school students: associations with school food environment and policies. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2005, (2)14.) Determine the level of measurement of the following variables considered in the study.a. Number of snack and soft drink vending machines in the school _______________b. Whether or not the school has a closed campus policy during lunch _______________c. Class rank (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior) _______________d. Number of days per week a student eats school lunch _______________ ................
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