Question

Airline companies are interested in the consistency of the number of babies on each flight, so that they have adequate safety equipment. Suppose an airline conducts a survey. Over Thanksgiving weekend, it surveys six flights from Boston to Salt Lake City to determine the number of babies on the flights. It determines the amount of safety equipment needed by the result of that study.

a. Using complete sentences, list three things wrong with the way the survey was conducted.

b. Using complete sentences, list three ways that you would improve the survey if it were to be repeated.

Short answer

a)

1. The survey was conducted on weekends, which is incorrect because it is impossible to forecast the number of babies on weekdays by conducting the poll solely on weekends.

2. The poll was conducted on six identical flights, which is incorrect because it is impossible to forecast the number of newborns on all sorts of flights by conducting a survey on six identical flights.

3. The study did not use a representative sample of air travellers since the survey sample was not representative of all types of air travellers.

b)

1. It is necessary to conduct the survey on multiple days of the week in order to ensure accuracy.

2. To ensure that the survey is accurate, it must be conducted at several times throughout the year, so that each season can be covered.

3. To ensure that the survey is accurate, it must be conducted on flights from a variety of origins and destinations.

Step-by-step solution

Part(a) - Step 1: To find

The errors in the survey conducted.

Part(a) - Step 2: Explanation

The following are three flaws in the survey that was conducted:

• Survey was done over the Christmas season, when the number of people would be unusually high.
• The only route covered is from Boston to Salt Lake City, which may result in biassed results based on these specific sites.
• The sample size of 6 is insufficient to generalise the results of such a survey.

Part (b) Step 3: To find

The improvements in the survey conducted.

Part (b) - Step 4: Explanation

The following are three enhancements to the survey:

• Surveys can be conducted on regular working days, weekends, and holidays to gain a general sense of the number of children who travel.
• The only route covered is from Boston to Salt Lake City, which may result in skewed results based on these specific sites. As a result, other routes must be incorporated in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture.
• The sample size of 6 is insufficient to generalise the results of such a survey. As a result, more flights can be included in the poll; the larger the sample, the more accurate the study's results.