Question

Use the following data to answer the next five exercises: Two researchers are gathering data on hours of video games played by school-aged children and young adults. They each randomly sample different groups of 150 students from the same school. They collect the following data.

As part of a way to reward students for participating in the survey, the researchers gave each student a gift card to a video game store. Would this affect the data if students knew about the award before the study?

Short answer

Prior knowledge of the reward will affect the data if students knew about the award before the study.

Step-by-step solution

Concept Introduction

The sample is a portion of the population that is chosen and analyzed in order to derive conclusions about the entire population of interest in statistics.

Explanation

The participants' responses will undoubtedly be influenced by their past understanding of the reward if a gift card to a video gaming store is included in the prize. This will draw in more students who enjoy playing video games and tend to spend more time doing so. It will prevent students who do not enjoy playing video games from taking part in the survey. As a result, the sample obtained will be biassed, indicating more hours spent playing video games, and the credibility of the data acquired will be compromised.

Final answer

As a result, prior knowledge of the reward will affect the data if students knew about the award before the study.