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Statistics for Decision- Making in Business - Maricopa Community ...

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APPENDIX A<br />

Answers to Select Problems<br />

1.1 Data and Their Uses<br />

1.<br />

2.<br />

3.<br />

4.<br />

5.<br />

6.<br />

a. Nom<strong>in</strong>al; ice cream names cannot be ordered, <strong>in</strong> general.<br />

b. Interval; temperatures have order and the differences <strong>in</strong> temperature can be<br />

reasonably discussed. For example, to talk about a difference is mean<strong>in</strong>gful.<br />

c. Ratio: Absolute 0 exists s<strong>in</strong>ce there can be no balance at all. Additionally, it<br />

makes sense to talk about ratios. For <strong>in</strong>stance, accounts receivable balances can<br />

be, say, 20% higher this month as compared to last.<br />

d. Ord<strong>in</strong>al; there is an order<strong>in</strong>g, though we can‟t talk about the number 1 candidate<br />

as be<strong>in</strong>g 2 better than the number 3 candidate. This is because the difference of 1<br />

might not necessarily be the same from 1 to 2 as it would be from 2 to 3. Maybe<br />

candidate 3 is a far third.<br />

a. 2,121 elements <strong>in</strong> the sample<br />

b. Length of time is a quantitative variable, s<strong>in</strong>ce it is a numerical measure.<br />

a. 15,000 elements <strong>in</strong> the sample<br />

b. A proportion is a quantitative variable, s<strong>in</strong>ce it is a ratio.<br />

a. Observational; the number of animals a family have is not be<strong>in</strong>g assigned.<br />

Instead, families are simply be<strong>in</strong>g asked about how many animals they have.<br />

b. The study might have considered families with horses. People with horses likely<br />

live on the outskirts of a big city, perhaps be<strong>in</strong>g exposed to less pollen. Also,<br />

maybe more families have pets because their children do not seem to have<br />

allergies to them.<br />

a. Observational; the researchers are look<strong>in</strong>g at preexist<strong>in</strong>g habits. They are not<br />

attempt<strong>in</strong>g to alter the habits to determ<strong>in</strong>e what effect do<strong>in</strong>g so might have on<br />

measures of read<strong>in</strong>g ability and short-term memory.<br />

b. No; perhaps those who watch more television also have other habits that lead<br />

them to scor<strong>in</strong>g poorly on such assessments.<br />

a. Observational; the op<strong>in</strong>ions of the doctors are not be<strong>in</strong>g altered <strong>in</strong> any way.<br />

b. There is a nonresponse bias s<strong>in</strong>ce not all participants responded. Thus, it might be<br />

the case that those with the strongest op<strong>in</strong>ions decided to come <strong>for</strong>ward, whereas<br />

the other 17,000 who didn‟t respond might have <strong>in</strong>fluenced the poll <strong>in</strong> a different<br />

way.<br />

<strong>Statistics</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Decision</strong>-<strong>Mak<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> Bus<strong>in</strong>ess © Milos Podmanik Page 220

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