Guided Exercises: on the right, state which data gathering technique (sampling, census, simulation, experiment) is better suited to carry out the following studies. In addition, justify your answer, e.g., why?

b) Analyze the amount of time that first year nurses spend studying at home to prepare for their shifts

c) Study the effects of a vitamin D supplement that Caribbean immigrants living in NYC for less than a year must take from Mid-October until mid-April.

d) Quantify the number of total credits each Pace student takes at the end of the add/drop period.

a) Study the effect of stopping a NYC hospital's central AC during the summer months

Using your knowledge gained in this class, as well as any prior knowledge you may have about the topic, comment on the usefulness of the data gathered below and their description:

a) A uniformed law enforcement official asks a group of 20 college freshmen their name and whether they used any illegal substance in the last month.

b) There are data showing that cities with low-income housing have greater proportions of homelessness. Can we deduct that building low-income housing causes homelessness?

d) Patients were giving a form that they can drop at the checkout desk rating the quality of their nurses. How could their repossess compare to those given via an email or in-person survey?

e) A local hospital conducted extensive studies on the uses and abuses of alcohol by including males over the age of 45 as the subjects of the study.

Statistical Literacy: a study used the variables: income, job satisfaction, and commute to and from work. How or why could the included variables be confounded? List at least one non-collected variable that could confound all variables.

Statistical Literacy: In a completely randomized study a control group received a candy pill disguised as a decongestant and a treatment group received a newly developed decongestant. Describe how this could be made into a double-blinded experiment and the benefits of such experiment.

Critical Thinking: An environmental scientist deployed a very well-designed survey at a farmer's market to capture city residents' opinions about recycling; she explained participants that their responses might be used to change the city's garbage collection policies. She stood in front of respondents in a position where they could see her t-shirt reading 'fight climate change'. Do respondents represent a random sample of the city's residents? Would you be concerned that in spite of a well-designed survey, the scientist may introduce bias into respondents' responses? Justify each answer.