Topic: Statistics in the News
Task 1 Population and sample
Find a report in a recent newspaper concerning any type of statistical study. Then answer the following questions:
What is the population being studied?
What is the population parameter?
What is the sample?
What is the sample statistic?
Why do you think the sample was chosen as it was? Explain.
Task 2 Poor sampling
Find a separate newspaper article about a study that attempts to describe some characteristic of a population, but that you believe involved poor sampling (for example, a sample that was too small or not representative of the population under study). Then:
Describe the population, the sample, and what you think was wrong with the sample.
Briefly discuss how you think the poor sampling affected the study results.
Task 3 Good sampling
Find a recent and separate newspaper article that describes a statistical study in which the sample was well chosen. Then:
Describe the population and the sample.
Why you think the sample was a good one? Explain.
In the main body of this paper, present the results from the three tasks given above. If you wish, you can subdivide the main body into three sections, one for each task.
