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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS

EXAMPLE 1: Populations and Samples
Name a population of which you are a part. From that population, describe a sample of which you are a part.
Then, describe a sample of which you are not a part.

Possible Response #1
The collection of all members of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a population. The author is a
member of that population.

A sample from that population that includes the author is the collection of all SWE members who are
aerospace engineers.

A sample from that population that does not include the author is the collection of all SWE members
who are aerospace engineers who live in California.

Possible Response #2
The collection of all basketball players in the NBA is a population. Suppose you are Kobe Bryant answering the
question.

A sample from that population that contains Kobe Bryant is the collection of all NBA players on the
LA Lakers team.

A sample from that population that does not contain Kobe Bryant is the collection of all NBA players
on the Boston Celtics.

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EXAMPLE 2: Populations and Samples
During the 2009-2010 school year, 2,800 kids and teens at 20 randomly selected middle and high schools in the
Minneapolis/St. Paul area completed a survey on food and weight-related behaviors, including activities tied to
muscle gain. In addition to steroid use, more than one-third of boys and one-fifth of girls in the study said they
had used protein powder or shakes to gain muscle mass, and between five and 10 percent used non-steroid
muscle-enhancing substances.

What is the population represented in this survey? What is the sample?

The population is the larger group being studied. In this example the large group is middle and high
school students in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

The sample is the collection from the population who provide the actual data. In this example, the
sample is the 2800 students from randomly selected schools who responded to the survey.

EXAMPLE 3: Levels of Measurement

Consider the population of all currently licensed Chevrolet vehicles on American highways.

1. Give an example of data from this population at the nominal level of measurement.

The nominal level of measurements has categories with no ordering scheme.

Organize the Chevrolet vehicles into categories such as sedans, minivans, trucks, SUVs, 4-wheel
drives, and so on.

2. Give an example of data from this population at the ratio level of measurement.

The ratio level of measurement is numerical with a meaningful zero value and meaningful ratio
values.

Current blue book resale value of each Chevrolet vehicle is an example of a ratio level of
measurement.

The odometer reading on each vehicle is another example of a ratio level of measurement.

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VOCABULARY CHECK
1. Give an example of a voluntary response study. (Try to find one that is not described in your textbook!)

2. Give an example of an observational study. (Try to find one that is not described in your textbook!)

3. Give an example of an experimental study. (Try to find one that is not described in your textbook!)

4. Give an example of a stratified sample taken from the population of American college students.

5. Give an example of a convenience sample taken from the population of teenage drivers.

6. Give an example of a systematic sample taken from the population of shoppers at a major department store.

7. A numerical measure describing some feature of a population is called a __________; a numerical measure
describing some feature of a sample is called a __________.

8. Give an example of a type of data at the nominal level of measurement.

9. Give an example of statistical significance versus practical significance. (Try to find one that is not described
in your textbook!)

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SHORT ANSWER
1. Name three reasons for gathering data from a sample instead of from the entire population.

2. In 2012, third baseman Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers baseball team had 205 hits in 622 times at bat.
What is Miguels batting average?

3. In a recent survey of 170 sociology students at the University of North Florida, 52.4% of the males
strongly agreed that a married woman should take her husbands last name. How many male sociology
students does this 52.4% represent?

4. TRUE or FALSE: Correlation implies causality. Defend your answer with a brief explanation.

5. TRUE or FALSE: Very large samples guarantee sound statistical results. Defend your answer with a
brief explanation.

6. TRUE or FALSE: A sample of 1250 responders to an online survey is an example of a self-selected

sample. Defend your answer with a brief explanation.

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