When doing a statistical study on whether eating before bed influences sleep patterns explain what you would do to complete each of the seven steps for conducting a statistical study.

For step 2- Identify the variables for the study- What do you think the variables of the study should be? What are you trying to measure for a study about whether eating before bed influences sleep?

For step 3- Define the population- What would you consider the population to be? What group are you drawing the sample from? It could be a certain city or college or something like that. Be specific.

For step 4- Decide what sampling method you will use to collect the data- Of the methods we have learned in the Learn section of Blackboard and in ALEKS so far, which ones would you use? We have learned about Simple Random sample, Stratified Random sample, Cluster Random sample, and Systematic Random sample.

For step 5- Collect the data- How would you collect the data (surveys, interviews, observations, etc.)?

For step 6- Summarize the data and perform any statistical calculations needed- How would you compile the data? How would you display the data? You could use mean, median and mode or a chart like a histogram.

For step 7- Interpret the results- What possible conclusions would you draw from the results for a study about whether eating before bed influences sleep?

-How would we know if the results of the study are valid and reliable? Did they follow the seven steps for conducting a statistical study? How does the sampling method and overall data collection play into validity and reliability? You could also ask the experimenter what the sampling method and data collection method was used.

-What questions would you ask to find out more about the quality of the data? You could ask some questions to find out more about the quality of the data. How did the researcher collect the data? What method was used? Would the researcher collect the data or should the participant state their own data? What was the size of the sample?

-Why is it important to gather and report valid and reliable data? Reliability is important because you want your measurements to be accurate and consistent. Validity means you accurately measured what you are supposed to measure. Why is it important?