Solutions Manual for An Introduction to Statistical
Concepts, 4e Debbie Hahs-Vaughn, Richard Lomax
(All Chapters Answers at the end of each Chapter)
PROBLEMS
Conceptual Problems
1. A mental health counselor is conducting a research study on satisfaction that married
couples have with their marriage. “Marital status” (e.g., single, married, divorced,
widowed), in this scenario, is which one of the following?
a. Constant
b. Variable
2. Belle randomly samples 100 library patrons and gathers data on the genre of the "first book"
that they checked out from the library. She finds that 85 library patrons checked out a fiction
book and 15 library patrons checked out a non-fiction book. Which of the following best
characterizes the type of "first book" checked out in this study?
a. Constant
b. Variable
3. For interval level variables, which of the following properties does not apply?
a. "A" is two units greater than ‘B’
b. "A" is greater than ‘B’
c. "A" is twice as good as ‘B’
d. "A" differs from ‘B’
4. Which of the following properties is appropriate for ordinal, but not for nominal variables?
a. "A" differs from ‘B’
b. "A" is greater than ‘B’
c. "A" is ten units greater than ‘B’
d. "A" is twice as good as ‘B’
5. Which scale of measurement is implied by the following statement: “JoAnn’s score is three
times greater than Oscar’s score?”
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
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,6. Which scale of measurement is produced the following survey item: "Which season do you
prefer to spend your time? Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter?"
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
7. A band director collects data on the number of years in which students in the band have
played a musical instrument. Which scale of measurement is implied by this scenario?
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
8. Kristen has an IQ of 120. I assert that Kristen is 20% more intelligent than the average
person having an IQ of 100. Am I correct?
9. Population is to parameter as sample is to statistic. True or false?
10. A dichotomous variable is also a categorical variable. True or false?
11. The amount of time spent studying in one week for a population of students is an inferential
statistic. True or false?
12. A sample of 50 students take an exam and the instructor decides to give the top 5 scores a
bonus of 5 points. Compared to the original set of scores (no bonus), will the ranks of the
new set of scores (including bonus) be exactly the same?
13. Malani and Laila have class ranks of 5 and 6. Ingrid and Toomas have class ranks of 55 and
56. Will the GPAs of Malani and Laila be the same distance apart as the GPAs of Ingrid and
Toomas?
14. Aurora is studying sleep disorders in adults. She gathers data on whether or not they take
medication to assist their sleep. Aurora finds that 1/3 of the adults take medication, and 2/3
do not. Which of the following best characterizes "whether or not medication is taken?"
a. Constant
b. Variable
15. A researcher has collected data that compares an intervention program to a comparison
program. The researcher finds that the intervention program produces results that are four
times better than the comparison program. Which measurement scale is implied and that
will allow the researcher to make this type of interpretation? Select all that apply.
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
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,16. A researcher has access to 22 local health clinics which are part of a network of 56 health
clinics in the state. The researcher conducts a study which includes the 22 regional health
clinics. In this scenario, the 22 local health clinics are which one of the following?
a. Dichotomous
b. Interval
c. Sample
d. Population
17. A researcher has access to 22 regional health clinics which are part of a network of 56
health clinics in the state. The researcher conducts a study which includes the 22 regional
health clinics. In this scenario, the 56 health clinics in the state are which one of the
following?
a. Dichotomous
b. Interval
c. Sample
d. Population
18. Which of the following is an example of a dichotomous variable?
a. Dance type (ballet, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap)
b. Interest (no interest, somewhat interested, much interest)
c. Total cost (measured in whole dollars ranging from $0 to infinity)
d. Age (ages <40 and ages 40+)
19. Which of the following is an example of an ordinal variable?
a. Dance type (ballet, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap)
b. Interest (no interest, somewhat interested, much interest)
c. Total cost (measured in whole dollars ranging from $0 to infinity)
d. Age (ages <40 and ages 40+)
20. Which of the following is an example of a ratio variable?
a. Scores on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality inventory
b. Number of pieces of cake eaten at birthday parties (measured in whole numbers)
c. Pleasure experienced on vacation (none, some, much)
d. Types of plants preferred by homeowners (bushes, flowers, grasses, trees)
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, Answers to Conceptual Problems
1. Constant (all individuals in the study are married, thus the marital status will be "married" for
everyone participating; in other words, there is no variation in "marital status" for this
particular scenario)
2. Variable (while there is not a lot of variation given that 85 of 100 patrons check out fiction
books, there is some variation in this scenario)
3. c (true ratios cannot be formed with interval variables)
4. b (greater than statements do not apply to nominal variables)
5. d (true ratios can only be formed with ratio variables)
6. a ("season", as in spring, summer, winter, fall, is a nominal variable)
7. d (an absolute value of zero would indicate an absence of what was measured—i.e., the
number of years playing in a band—and thus ratio is the scale of measure; although an
answer of zero is not likely given that the students in the band are those being measured, if
someone were to respond with an answer of zero, that value would truly indicate "no years
playing an instrument")
8. No (true ratios cannot be formed with interval variables)
9. True (there are only population parameters and sample statistics; no other combinations
exist)
10. True (categorical variables can have any number of qualitative values; dichotomous variables
are limited to only two values)
11. False (as this is a population parameter, no inference need be made)
12. Yes (although the top 5 scores will be increased, the ranks of every score will remain the
same)
13. No (class rank is ordinal and equal intervals is not a characteristic of an ordinal variable)
14. Variable (given that some took medication and others did not, this indicates variation in what
was measured)
15. d (ratio variables will allow interpretations such as "four times greater" to be made from the
data as they have equal intervals and a true zero point)
16. c (with access to 22 of the 56 total health clinics, the researcher is working with a sample of
22 from the population of 56)
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Concepts, 4e Debbie Hahs-Vaughn, Richard Lomax
(All Chapters Answers at the end of each Chapter)
PROBLEMS
Conceptual Problems
1. A mental health counselor is conducting a research study on satisfaction that married
couples have with their marriage. “Marital status” (e.g., single, married, divorced,
widowed), in this scenario, is which one of the following?
a. Constant
b. Variable
2. Belle randomly samples 100 library patrons and gathers data on the genre of the "first book"
that they checked out from the library. She finds that 85 library patrons checked out a fiction
book and 15 library patrons checked out a non-fiction book. Which of the following best
characterizes the type of "first book" checked out in this study?
a. Constant
b. Variable
3. For interval level variables, which of the following properties does not apply?
a. "A" is two units greater than ‘B’
b. "A" is greater than ‘B’
c. "A" is twice as good as ‘B’
d. "A" differs from ‘B’
4. Which of the following properties is appropriate for ordinal, but not for nominal variables?
a. "A" differs from ‘B’
b. "A" is greater than ‘B’
c. "A" is ten units greater than ‘B’
d. "A" is twice as good as ‘B’
5. Which scale of measurement is implied by the following statement: “JoAnn’s score is three
times greater than Oscar’s score?”
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
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,6. Which scale of measurement is produced the following survey item: "Which season do you
prefer to spend your time? Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter?"
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
7. A band director collects data on the number of years in which students in the band have
played a musical instrument. Which scale of measurement is implied by this scenario?
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
8. Kristen has an IQ of 120. I assert that Kristen is 20% more intelligent than the average
person having an IQ of 100. Am I correct?
9. Population is to parameter as sample is to statistic. True or false?
10. A dichotomous variable is also a categorical variable. True or false?
11. The amount of time spent studying in one week for a population of students is an inferential
statistic. True or false?
12. A sample of 50 students take an exam and the instructor decides to give the top 5 scores a
bonus of 5 points. Compared to the original set of scores (no bonus), will the ranks of the
new set of scores (including bonus) be exactly the same?
13. Malani and Laila have class ranks of 5 and 6. Ingrid and Toomas have class ranks of 55 and
56. Will the GPAs of Malani and Laila be the same distance apart as the GPAs of Ingrid and
Toomas?
14. Aurora is studying sleep disorders in adults. She gathers data on whether or not they take
medication to assist their sleep. Aurora finds that 1/3 of the adults take medication, and 2/3
do not. Which of the following best characterizes "whether or not medication is taken?"
a. Constant
b. Variable
15. A researcher has collected data that compares an intervention program to a comparison
program. The researcher finds that the intervention program produces results that are four
times better than the comparison program. Which measurement scale is implied and that
will allow the researcher to make this type of interpretation? Select all that apply.
a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
c. Interval
d. Ratio
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,16. A researcher has access to 22 local health clinics which are part of a network of 56 health
clinics in the state. The researcher conducts a study which includes the 22 regional health
clinics. In this scenario, the 22 local health clinics are which one of the following?
a. Dichotomous
b. Interval
c. Sample
d. Population
17. A researcher has access to 22 regional health clinics which are part of a network of 56
health clinics in the state. The researcher conducts a study which includes the 22 regional
health clinics. In this scenario, the 56 health clinics in the state are which one of the
following?
a. Dichotomous
b. Interval
c. Sample
d. Population
18. Which of the following is an example of a dichotomous variable?
a. Dance type (ballet, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap)
b. Interest (no interest, somewhat interested, much interest)
c. Total cost (measured in whole dollars ranging from $0 to infinity)
d. Age (ages <40 and ages 40+)
19. Which of the following is an example of an ordinal variable?
a. Dance type (ballet, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap)
b. Interest (no interest, somewhat interested, much interest)
c. Total cost (measured in whole dollars ranging from $0 to infinity)
d. Age (ages <40 and ages 40+)
20. Which of the following is an example of a ratio variable?
a. Scores on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality inventory
b. Number of pieces of cake eaten at birthday parties (measured in whole numbers)
c. Pleasure experienced on vacation (none, some, much)
d. Types of plants preferred by homeowners (bushes, flowers, grasses, trees)
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, Answers to Conceptual Problems
1. Constant (all individuals in the study are married, thus the marital status will be "married" for
everyone participating; in other words, there is no variation in "marital status" for this
particular scenario)
2. Variable (while there is not a lot of variation given that 85 of 100 patrons check out fiction
books, there is some variation in this scenario)
3. c (true ratios cannot be formed with interval variables)
4. b (greater than statements do not apply to nominal variables)
5. d (true ratios can only be formed with ratio variables)
6. a ("season", as in spring, summer, winter, fall, is a nominal variable)
7. d (an absolute value of zero would indicate an absence of what was measured—i.e., the
number of years playing in a band—and thus ratio is the scale of measure; although an
answer of zero is not likely given that the students in the band are those being measured, if
someone were to respond with an answer of zero, that value would truly indicate "no years
playing an instrument")
8. No (true ratios cannot be formed with interval variables)
9. True (there are only population parameters and sample statistics; no other combinations
exist)
10. True (categorical variables can have any number of qualitative values; dichotomous variables
are limited to only two values)
11. False (as this is a population parameter, no inference need be made)
12. Yes (although the top 5 scores will be increased, the ranks of every score will remain the
same)
13. No (class rank is ordinal and equal intervals is not a characteristic of an ordinal variable)
14. Variable (given that some took medication and others did not, this indicates variation in what
was measured)
15. d (ratio variables will allow interpretations such as "four times greater" to be made from the
data as they have equal intervals and a true zero point)
16. c (with access to 22 of the 56 total health clinics, the researcher is working with a sample of
22 from the population of 56)
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