Question

Suppose that a study is carried out in which each student in a random sample selected from students at a particular college is asked whether or not he or she would purchase a recycled paper product even if it cost more than the same product that was not made with recycled paper. Would you use the resulting data to estimate a population mean or to estimate a population proportion? How did you decide?

Short answer

The resulting data would be used to estimate a population proportion. This conclusion is reached because the data collected represents binary choices (Yes or No), therefore suitable for calculating proportions instead of means.

Step-by-step solution

Identify the Type of Data Collected

The type of data collected comes in the form of yes or no answers, a binary form of data. Every student in the random sample answers whether or not they would purchase a recycled paper product even if it cost more. It doesn't involve numerical values related with individual students.

Understand the Data Context

The question aims at understanding the behaviour of the student population. It seeks to gauge what proportion of the student population would be willing to pay more for recycled paper products. This question is not seeking an average value of a range of numbers.

Identify the Statistical Concept Applicable

Since the question requires understanding the likelihood or proportion of a population inclined towards a certain behaviour, we lean towards the statistical concept of proportion. The data collected is not numerical data associated with each individual student, thus calculating an average or mean isn't applicable.