Question

The authors of the paper "Popular Video Games: Quantifying the Presentation of Violence and its Context" (Journal of Broadcasting \& Electronic Media [2003]: 58-76) investigated the relationship between video game rating-suitable for everyone (E), suitable for 13 years of age and older (T), and suitable for 17 years of age and older \((\mathrm{M})-\) and the number of violent interactions per minute of play. The sample consisted of 60 video games \(-\) the 20 most popular (by sales) for each of three game systems. The researchers concluded that video games rated for older children had significantly more violent interactions per minute than video games rated for more general audiences. a. Do you think that the sample of 60 games was selected in a way that makes it representative of the population of all video games? b. Is it reasonable to generalize the researchers' conclusion to all video games? Explain why or why not.

Short answer

a. The sample of 60 games, selected based on popularity, may not entirely represent the population of all video games, especially those that are less popular or lower in sales. b. It is not reasonable to generalize the researchers' conclusion to all video games since the sample selection criterion was biased towards the most popular games and did not include wider coverage of less popular ones, thus lacking in overall representativeness.

Step-by-step solution

Understand the Sample Selection

Initially, we need to examine the sample collection strategy taken by the researchers. They selected the 20 most popular games (based on sales) from each of three ratings, E, T, M. Hence, we have a sample of 60 games, which were chosen not randomly but on the basis popularity. Thus, this sample may not represent the population of all video games, as it has a bias towards the most popular, high sales games. A larger and more diverse sample, including less popular games, would likely provide a more representative outcome.

Assess the Generalization of Results

Next, we need to evaluate if the results obtained from this sample can be generalized to all video games. Given that the sample had a particular skewness (towards the 20 most popular games in each rating category), it is difficult to accurately generalize the study's findings to all video games. If the sample included a wider variety of games, including the median and least popular games, then the result could be more broadly applied.