Chapter 1: Q2. (page 49)
Explain the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics.
Descriptive statistics deals with different measures of the central tendency of sample data whereas inferential statistics deals with the usage of statistical tools to draw statistical conclusions.
Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!
All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.
Get started for free
List and define the four elements of a descriptive statistics problem.
Who is better at multi-tasking? In business, employees are often asked to perform a complex task when their attention is divided (i.e., multi-tasking). Human Factors (May 2014) published a study designed to determine whether video game players are better than non–video game players at multi-tasking. Each in a sample of 60 college students was classified as a video game player or a nonplayer. Participants entered a street crossing simulator and were asked to cross a busy street at an unsigned intersection. The simulator was designed to have cars traveling at various high rates of speed in both directions. During the crossing, the students also performed a memory task as a distraction. Two variables were measured for each student: (1) a street crossing performance score (measured out of 100 points) and (2) a memory task score (measured out of 20 points). The researchers found no differences in either the street crossing performance or memory task score of video game players and non-gamers. “These results,” say the researchers, “suggest that action video game players [and non-gamers] are equally susceptible to the costs of dividing attention in a complex task”.
a. Identify the experimental unit for this study.
b. Identify the variables measured as quantitative or qualitative.
c. Is this an application of descriptive statistics or inferential statistics? Explain.
Jamming attacks on wireless networks. Terrorists often use wireless networks to communicate. To disrupt these communications, the U.S. military uses jamming attacks on the wireless networks. The International Journal of Production Economics (Vol. 172, 2016) described a study of 80 such jamming attacks. The configuration of the wireless network attacked was determined in each case. Configuration consists of network type (WLAN, WSN, or AHN) and number of channels (single- or multi-channel).
a. Suppose the 80 jamming attacks represent all jamming attacks by the U.S. military over the past several years, and these attacks are the only attacks of interest to the researchers. Do the data associated with these 80 attacks represent a population or a sample? Explain.
b. The 80 jamming attacks actually represent a sample. Describe the population for which this sample is representative.
c. Identify the variable “network type” as quantitative or qualitative.
d. Identify the variable “number of channels” as quantitative or qualitative.
e. Explain how to measure number of channels quantitatively?
Explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative data?
The economic return to earning an MBA. What are the economic rewards (e.g., higher salary) to obtaining an MBA degree? This was the question of interest in an article published in the International Economic Review (August 2008). The researchers made inferences based on wage data collected for a sample of 3,244 individuals who sat for the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT). (The GMAT exam is required for entrance into most MBA programs.) The following sampling scheme was employed. All those who took the GMAT exam in any of four selected time periods were mailed a questionnaire. Those who responded to the questionnaire were then sent three follow-up surveys (one survey every 3 months). The final sample of 3,244 represents only those individuals who responded to all four surveys. (For example, about 5,600 took the GMAT in one time period; of these, only about 800 responded to all four surveys.)
A. For this study, describe the population of interest.
b. What method was used to collect the sample data?
c. Do you think the final sample is representative of the population? Why or why not? Comment on potential biases in the sample.
What do you think about this solution?
We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.
