Topic: applied statistics

Order Description
Address the following prompts about random samples:

First, (1-a) give a concrete example of a research question in which you obtained a truly random sample. (1-b) Explain why, in this case, your sample could be considered “truly random.”

Second, (2-a) give a concrete example of a research question in which you did NOT obtain a truly random sample, yet your conclusion based on that sample would be meaningful and not misleading. (2-b) Explain why, in this case, your conclusion would be meaningful.

Finally, (3-a) give a concrete example of a research question in which you did NOT obtain a truly random sample, and this would cause your conclusion based on these results to be misleading or meaningless. (3-b) Explain why, in this case, your conclusion would not be meaningful.

Evaluation:

You may address the questions within one continuous response or separately, but together the responses should be roughly 1 page, double-spaced. More important than the length is (1) whether you answered the all the questions directly and (2) whether you correctly use and interpret the ideas of (in this case) random sample, representative sample, and biased sample (implicitly or explicitly) in your responses.

In general, try to be as concrete, specific, and explicit as possible, and don’t answer generically or by appealing only to definitions. Also, try to be concise and to directly address the questions. You do not need to include references, and you may use hypothetical examples.