Week 1 Critical Thinking Exercise (first post is due by Friday)

Please note that this exercise is one where you will only be able to see your classmates' responses after you have posted your response. Once you have posted your response, you will have 30 minutes to make changes and during this 30 minutes, you will not be able to see your classmates' posts.

Consider the following statistical studies:

1. A study (in Georgia) of the effect of eating oatmeal on lowering cholesterol.

2. A study of current GMC students next career move after graduating or transferring from GMC.

3.A study of how many cars run the red light at a certain intersection in Macon, GA.

Participation Requirements for this Exercise

Main post:Post your answer by Friday.For each study above, address the following questions:

a)What is the population of interest?Approximately, how many people are in the population of interest? (Recall, the definition of a population is: The collection of all outcomes, responses, measurements, or counts that are of interest.)

b)What is the best data collection method to use for the study (explain)?(Recall, data collection methods are: Observation, Survey, Experiment, Simulation).

c)For one of the three studies, a census is possible.Determine which one and then explain why a census is possible for that study and is not possible for the other two studies.(A census means that we are able to collect data from every unit in the population.Most of the time the population is too large for a census to be feasible)

d)For the two studies where a census is not possible, how many people, students, or cars would you sample out of the population? What sampling technique would you use (see section 1.3)?(Explain your reasoning)

Replies:Reply to at least two classmates.Your replies should address the following:

a)Your first reply should address the correctness of a classmate's answer for part a and whether you support their decision in part b.

b)Your second reply should address a classmate's answer to part c and d.Provide an alternative sampling strategy, with justification.

See the syllabus for complete grading information.