Statistics 1200 Chapter 2 - Reading the News: Seven Critical Components (Flashcards)

A set of Q&A flashcards covering the seven critical components (Source, Researchers, Individuals or objects studied, Measurements, Setting, Extraneous differences, Magnitude) and related application/examples from the lecture notes.

What are the seven critical components outlined in Formula (2.1) for evaluating a study?

Source, Researchers, Individuals or objects studied, Measurements, Setting, Extraneous differences, and Magnitude.

What does the Source component address in evaluating a study?

Where the information comes from (usually the journal of publication); consider the journal's reputation and who funded the study for potential vested interests.

What does the Researchers component address?

Who asks or conducts the questions; the identity of the researcher can influence responses (e.g., questions about study hours or theft depending on who asks).

What does the Individuals or objects studied component address?

The sample being studied; the need for a representative sample to generalize results to a population and specifying to what population we generalize.

What does the Measurements component address?

How variables are measured; some things are hard to measure and some questions are ambiguous (e.g., sleep duration, number of lies told).

What does the Setting component address?

When and where data were collected and how subjects were contacted (season/time of day, location, and method like email, telephone, or face-to-face).

What does the Extraneous differences component address?

Differences between groups on factors other than the treatment; random assignment helps ensure groups are similar, highlighting why experiments have an advantage over observational studies.

What does the Magnitude component address?

The size of the effect or difference; express details like risk reductions as absolute differences (e.g., 1.7% to 1.3% = 0.4 percentage points).

Under which component would information that subjects were obtained via a cluster sample be classified?

Setting (it relates to how and where subjects were obtained).

Under which component would a study paid for by a private business that would benefit from the results be classified?

Source (the funding source and potential vested interests).

Under which component would information about the study on the amount of stress college students experience during the week before classes be classified?

Setting (the timing of data collection).

Under which component would the information that the results were published in The Journal of Applied Economics be classified?

Source (publication venue or origin of the information).

In a study comparing health between green tea drinkers and non-drinkers, if green tea drinkers are more likely to exercise, which component is of concern?

Extraneous differences (a confounding factor that could bias the comparison).

What is a representative sample and why is it important?

A sample that accurately reflects the population of interest; it is necessary to generalize results beyond the sample.:

What is random assignment and what does it protect against?

Randomly assigning subjects to groups; protects against systematic differences between groups (extraneous differences) and strengthens the experimental design over observational studies.

Give examples of measurements that are hard to measure or are ambiguous.

Examples include measuring sleep duration (How much did you sleep last night?) and counting lies (How many times did you tell a lie last week?).

What is the magnitude of the aspirin example given in the notes?

Taking aspirin every other day reduces risk from 1.7% to 1.3%, a magnitude of 0.4 percentage points (less than ½ of 1%).