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Chapter 4: Q. 150 (page 282)

One of the better studies of the effect of regular attendance

at religious services gathered data from a random sample of 3617 adults. The researchers then measured lots of variables, not just the explanatory variable (religious activities) and the response variable (length of life). A news article said: “Churchgoers were more likely to be nonsmokers, physically active, and at their right weight. But even after health behaviors were taken into account, those not attending religious services regularly still were significantly more likely to have died.” What conclusion can we draw from this study? Explain your reasoning.

Short Answer

Expert verified

No conclusion can be drawn from this study.

Step by step solution

01

Given information

We have been given data from a random sample of 3617 adults.

02

Explanation

When the effects of two variables on the same response variable cannot be distinguished, they are said to be confused.

You can't make any conclusions from this study because it's highly likely that churchgoers are more interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle in general, therefore the religious aspect is merely a correlation, not a cause.

Furthermore, the level of enthusiasm for adopting a healthy lifestyle will become a complicating variable.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Weekend birthdays Over the years, the percentage of births that are planned cesarean

sections has been rising. Because doctors can schedule these deliveries, there might be

more children born during the week and fewer born on the weekend than if births were

uniformly distributed throughout the week. To investigate, Mrs. McDonald and her class

selected an SRS of 73people born since1993 . Of these people, 24were born on Friday,

Saturday, or Sunday. To determine if these data provide convincing evidence that fewer than43%37 of people born since 1993were born on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, 100simulated SRSs were selected. Each dot in the graph shows the number of people that were born on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday in a simulated SRS of 73people, assuming that each person

had a 43%chance of being born on one of these three days.

a. Explain how the graph illustrates the concept of sampling variability.

b. Based on the data from the study and the results of the simulation, is there convincing

evidence that fewer than 43%of people born since 1993were born on Friday, Saturday,

or Sunday? Explain your answer.

Students as customers A high school’s student newspaper plans to survey local

businesses about the importance of students as customers. From an alphabetical list of all

local businesses, the newspaper staff chooses 150businesses at random. Of these, 73

return the questionnaire mailed by the staff. Identify the population and the sample.

Precise offers People often use round prices as first offers in a negotiation. But would a more precise number suggest that the offer was more reasoned and informed? In an experiment, 238adults played the role of a person selling a used car. Each adult received one of three initial offers: \(2000, \)1865(a precise under-offer), and \(2135(a precise over-offer). After hearing the initial offer, each subject made a counter-offer. The difference in the initial offer and counter-offer was the largest in the group that received the \)2000 offer. Describe how the researchers could have randomly assigned the subjects to the treatments

a. using slips of paper.

b. using technology.

c. using Table D.

Improving response rate -How can we reduce the rate of refusals in telephone surveys? Most people who answer at all listen to the interviewer’s introductory remarks and then decide whether to continue. One study made telephone calls to randomly selected households to ask opinions about the next election. In some calls, the interviewer gave her name; in others, she identified the university she was representing; and in still others, she identified both herself and the university. For each type of call, the interviewer either did or did not offer to send a copy of the final survey results to the person interviewed.

a. List the factors in this experiment and state how many levels each factor has.

b. If the researchers used every possible combination to form the treatments, how many treatments were included in the experiment?

c. List two of the treatments.

A popular website places opinion poll questions next to many of its news stories. Simply

click your response to join the sample. One of the questions was “Do you plan to diet this

year?” More than 30,000 people responded, with 68% saying “Yes.” Which of the

following is true?

a. About 68% of Americans planned to diet.

b. The poll used a convenience sample, so the results tell us little about the population of

all adults.

c. The poll uses voluntary response, so the results tell us little about the population of all

adults.

d. The sample is too small to draw any conclusion.

e. None of these.
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