Statistics: Chapter 1 Project

The study that my partner and I created consisted of finding out how often our
classmates filled their car up with gas. Upon choosing our topic, we decided to use the entire
population of our STATS class to show our data. If we only used a small sample from the class
our results would be limited. There are only 17 students in our class and we decided that the
population was already too small to split up. After choosing this topic we also needed to decide
whether or not our question would be too personal for anyone to answer. We asked ourselves if
we would be able to honestly answer this question without feeling like the data collectors were
invading our privacy. When we answered no to this question, we knew it was okay for us to
proceed with this topic.
The variable that our statistical study used was the number of weeks our classmates
can drive their vehicle until they need to stop for gas. This variable we chose to study is a
quantitative variable because we are trying to determine the amount of weeks. While
conducting our survey our answers we received were given to us in number form.
A survey was the best decision for us because neither an observational study or an
experiment would have worked. If we would have conducted an observational study, we would
have had to monitor gas stations not only around town, but in St. Johns and the other towns
students might fill up. This would have been nearly impossible because we both have other
things going outside of school and would not have been able to commit to watching a gas
station all day long. The reason we did not conduct and e
xperiment is because an experiment
would not have been easily managed. Because everyone drives a different amount of miles
every week, it would have been unrealistic to have a c
ontrol group. A survey was the best
decision for us because it was the most realistic study we could have conducted.
Because we administered a survey, and not an experiment, we do not have a control
group, nor do we have to worry about the placebo effect. We are simply asking people to
report how many times they fill up their car, we are not giving anyone anything. We do not have
and affect on the situation. It is not necessary that we do a double-blind study. Because we
are asking classmates to report information, there is no need for us to conduct a double-blind
study or for us to worry about a placebo effect. Because our survey question is not an opinion
based question, we do not have to be as concerned about b
ias simply because people are
reporting their own information.
Our data was representative of a ratio level of measurement. We know this because
the difference between each number is important and meaningful and there is an absolute zero.
An absolute zero can be found because none of our answers could be negative, you can not fill
up a negative amount of times.
In order to collect our data, we took a class list of the statistics class and asked each
person our survey question, crossing them off the list after we asked them. This was the best
strategy for us because the population involved, 17 people, was not very large. This was the
best way for us, however we did have to consider the possibility of u
ndercoverage.
Undercoverage is when you miss an individual, or individuals, in your survey and by leaving out
these individuals, you are left with some unrepresented amounts of data. We would have come
across this problem if people were absent from class, however the day we took our survey no
students were missing from class so we did not have to worry about undercoverage. If someone

would have been absent, we could have asked them the next day or texted them and asked our
question.
In addition to undercoverage, we had to consider that our data might be a little bit
messy. Because we asked for and average amount of time people filled up their cars, we knew
that the numbers might not be perfect; however that was okay, because we were only
concerned about finding the average. Another way in which our data might have been messy is
that each individual drives different amounts of miles per week. Some people come from in
town, others come from out in the country, some people do not have cars (0 weeks), and some
come from St. Johns everyday for school and sports. The location of where people come from
and go to are both factors in the study we conducted. The longer distance people had to drive,
the more gas they used, and the more frequent they filled up. Because of the multiple factors
and individuals that could affect our data, we chose to look at an average amount of times teens
in our statistics class have to fill up with gas.

Weeks

Times Filled Up

0 Weeks

Week

1 Week

1 Weeks

2 Weeks

2 Weeks

3 Weeks

3 Weeks

4 Weeks

4 Weeks

5 Weeks