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HW1 PDF

This document contains 9 questions about statistical concepts and analyzing studies and data visualizations. The questions cover topics like identifying variables in studies, assessing relationships between variables, determining whether studies are experimental or observational, identifying features of distributions from histograms and boxplots, sampling methods, formulating hypotheses, and identifying potential issues or biases in how statistics are presented.

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Mohammad Hossein Sekhavat
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209 views4 pages

HW1 PDF

This document contains 9 questions about statistical concepts and analyzing studies and data visualizations. The questions cover topics like identifying variables in studies, assessing relationships between variables, determining whether studies are experimental or observational, identifying features of distributions from histograms and boxplots, sampling methods, formulating hypotheses, and identifying potential issues or biases in how statistics are presented.

Uploaded by

Mohammad Hossein Sekhavat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Homework 1

Statistical Inference, Spring 97

1- The Buteyko method is a shallow breathing technique developed by Konstantin Buteyko,


a Russian doctor, in 1952. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Buteyko method can
reduce asthma symptoms and improve quality of life. In a scientific study to determine
the effectiveness of this method, researchers recruited 600 asthma patients aged 18-69
who relied on medication for asthma treatment. These patients were split into two
research groups: one practiced the Buteyko method and the other did not. Patients were
scored on quality of life, activity, asthma symptoms, and medication reduction on a scale
from 0 to 10. On average, the participants in the Buteyko group experienced a significant
reduction in asthma symptoms and an improvement in quality of life. Identify
a. The cases
b. The variables and their types
c. The main research question

2- A survey was conducted on 193 Yale University undergraduate students who took
Statistical Inference course in 2016. This survey asked the students about their GPA,
which can range between 0 and 4 points, and number of hours they studied per week. The
relationship between these two variables is shown in scatterplot below:

a. What is the explanatory variable and what is the response variable?


b. Describe the relationship between these two variables. Make sure to discuss
unusual observations, if any.
c. Is this an experimental or an observational study?
d. Can we conclude that studying longer hours leads to higher GPAs?

3- Number of infants per 1000 live birth is called infant mortality rate. Estimated infant
mortality rate in 2012 is shown for 222 countries in the data of histograms bellow. The
histogram on the left side displays frequencies, and the other displays relative
frequencies.
Homework 1
Statistical Inference, Spring 97

a. Examine the shape of distribution for each histogram. Which of these words are
appropriate to describe the shape of the distribution:
left-skewed, right-skewed, symmetric, uniform, bimodal, large outliers?
b. Estimate minimum, Q1, median, Q3, maximum, and mode of the distribution.
c. Is mean larger or smaller than the median? Why?
d. Which boxplot is associated to the infant mortality data?

e. What features of the distribution are apparent in the histogram and not the box
plot?

4- Write type of sampling for each of the following instance. Why?


a. Surveying every passenger on five flights on a particularly selected day at an
airline company
b. Putting names of all employees in a bowl and choosing one of names without
looking into the bowl
c. Surveying 100 students by getting random samples of 25 seniors, 25 sophomores,
25 juniors, and 25 freshmen.
d. Taking the last phone number of each page in a registration book of a competition
to announce them winners of the competition
Homework 1
Statistical Inference, Spring 97

5- The following paragraph presents description of a study. Identify the explanatory and
response variables. Can presence of a confounding variable be found in this study? If the
answer is positive, how can you change the study in order to eliminate the effect of the
confounding variable?
In an observational study, more than 50 people who previously worked for an
international organization applied for a position and were asked to get a letter of
motivation from their previous employers. It was observed that letters of
recommendation that contained more detail were much more persuasive and
acceptable than letters contained less detail.

6- The EIA test (a test used to examine if an individual suffers from HIV) gives a positive
result with probability of 0.006 if a person is HIV negative.
a. Two individuals who are both HIV negative are tested. What is the probability of
having at least a positive test result?
b. What is the probability of getting at least a positive test result if three people who
are all HIV negative take the test?

7- Misleading graph maybe a result of trying to impress readers by showing them the false
information. One way of generating such a graph is to mispresent performance.
a. Why is the bar chart below misleading? How should the information be
represented?

b. What is wrong with the information represented on this graph?


Homework 1
Statistical Inference, Spring 97

8- In an observational study, 60 patients who suffered from high blood pressure were given
a specific treatment. 16 out of 25 women who were under treatment were cured. Also, 12
out of 35 men under treatment were cured. We want to test weather this cure has the same
effect on men as on women or not.

a. Based on the mosaic plot, is gender independent of weather the treatment works
or not? Explain your reasoning.
b. Explain null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis in terms of words.
c. Suppose we want to use simulation method in order to test our hypothesis.
Describe the simulation process.
d. What do the simulation results shown below suggest about the effect of gender on
whether the patients are cured or not?

9- Search for a piece of news in the past year that contains statistical information and
critically analyze it. Look for sources of bias, statistical mistakes, fallacies,
misinformation, misleading graphs, and other common deficiencies.

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