Confounding Variables, Double-Blind Procedure, Consistency in Studies, Perception of Luxuries and Ne

Confounding Variables in a Study of College Graduates

Question 1

A study of college graduates involves three variables: income level, job satisfaction, and one-way commute times to work. List some ways the variables might be confounded. (Select all that apply.)

People might be very satisfied with their career as long as the income is high.

One-way commute times may be long because affordable housing is distant from the job.

People with who are very unsatisfied with their jobs will have a low income.

A working spouse could affect all three variables.

People may have a career following their passion, but have a low income or a long commute.

Question 2

a)Consider a completely randomized experiment in which a control group is given a placebo for congestion relief and a treatment group is given a new drug for congestion relief. Describe a double-blind procedure for this experiment.

1)The patients do not know which treatment the other patients received
2)Neither the patients nor those administering the treatments know which patients received which treatments.   
3)Those administering the treatments do not know which patients received which treatments.
4)The patients do not know which treatment they received.

b)What are some benefits of such a procedure? (Select all that apply.)

1)This process should eliminate potential bias from the patients' families.
2)This process should eliminate potential bias from patient psychology regarding benefits of the drug.
3)This process should eliminate potential bias from the researchers.
4)This process should eliminate potential bias from the treatment administrators
 
Question 3

This question has several parts that must be completed sequentially. If you skip a part of the question, you will not receive any points for the skipped part, and you will not be able to come back to the skipped part.

(a) Are the two studies inconsistent in their description of generation A?

(b) According to the 2001 study, what are the birth years of generation A?

Question 4

Suppose you are looking at the 2006 results of how the Echo generation classified specified items as either luxuries or necessities. Do you expect the results to reflect how the Echo generation would classify items in 2020? Explain. No, the generation will have aged by 14 years and their perception of items as necessities or luxuries might well have changed by then. No, many luxury brands will no longer exist in 2020, and will thus be unavailable for purchase. Newer luxury brands will dominate the lists. Yes, though the generation will have aged by 14 years, their perception of items as necessities or luxuries will not have changed by then. Yes, the costs of luxuries or necessities doesn't change that much with time, so they would still be considered luxuries or necessities in 2020. Yes, people's ideas of luxuries or necessities rarely change.

Question 5

Which technique for gathering data (observational study or experiment) do you think was used in the following studies?

(a) The Colorado Division of Wildlife netted and released 774 fish at Quincy Reservoir. There were 219 perch, 315 blue gill, 83 pike, and 157 rainbow trout.

This is an observational study because observations and measurements of individuals are conducted in a way that doesn't change the response or the variable being measured.

This is an experiment because a treatment was deliberately imposed on the individuals in order to observe a possible change in the response or variable being measured.

This is an observational study because a treatment was deliberately imposed on the individuals in order to observe a possible change in the response or variable being measured.

This is an experiment because observations and measurements of individuals are conducted in a way that doesn't change the response or the variable being measured.