A report (December 4, 2002) by the Pew Research Center on What the World Thinks in 2002 reported that, “The American public is strikingly at odds with publics around the world in its views about the U.S. role in the world and the global impact of American actions.” Conclusions were based on polls in several countries in 1999/2000 and in 2002. One of the largest changes reported was in Pakistan, where the percentage of interviewed subjects who had a favorable view of the United States was 23% in 1999/2000 and 10% in 2002. The sample sizes were apparently about 1000 for the first survey and 2032 for the second.
a. Identify the response variable and the explanatory variable.
b. If the two surveys used separate samples of subjects, should we treat these samples as dependent or as independent in order to conduct inference? Explain.
c. The same report indicated that in the 1999/2000 survey the percentage in Pakistan who thought the spread of American ideas and customs was good was 2% (n = 2032). To compare this to the percentage who had a favorable view of the United States in that survey, should you treat the samples as dependent, or as independent? Why?