Scan your daily newspaper or weekly news magazine, or search the Internet for articles that contain data. The data might be a summary of the results of a public opinion poll, the results of a vote by the U.S. Senate, or a list of crime rates, birth or death rates, etc. For each article you find, answer the following questions:

a. Do the data constitute a sample or an entire population? If a sample has been taken, clearly identify both the sample and the population; otherwise, identify the population.

b. What type of data (quantitative or qualitative) has been collected?

c. What is the source of the data?

d. If a sample has been observed, is it likely to be representative of the population?

e. If a sample has been observed, does the article present an explicit (or implied) inference about the population of interest?

If so, state the inference made in the article.

f. If an inference has been made, has a measure of reliability been included? What is it?

g. Use your answers to questions d–f to critically evaluate the article. Comment on the ethics of the study.