A. Let’s now consider an illustrative experiment and apply the previously discussed terms to it.

An English instructor conducts an experiment to determine whether the mode of presentation affects how
well prose material is remembered. For this experiment, the instructor uses several prose passages that are
presented visually or auditory. Fifty students are selected from the undergraduates attending the university at
which the instructor works. The students are divided into two groups of 25 students per group. The first group
receives a visual presentation of the prose passages, and the second group hears the passages through an
auditory presentation. At the end of their respective presentations, the subjects are asked to write down as
much of the material as they can remember. The average number of words remembered by each group is
calculated, and the two group averages are compared to see whether the mode of presentation had an effect.

Answer the following based on the information provided in the illustration.

a) Population
b) Sample
c) Independent Variable
d) Dependent Variable
e) Data
f) Statistic

However, for illustrative purposes, suppose the entire population had been given a visual presentation of
the passages. If we calculate the average number of words remembered by the population, how do we call the
computed average number of words? Why?
A. Identify the scaling of each of the following variables:
a. Number of bicycles ridden by students in the freshman class
b. Types of bicycles ridden by students in the freshman class
c. The IQ of your teachers (assume equal interval scaling)
d. Proficiency in mathematics graded in the categories of poor, fair, and good
e. Anxiety over public speaking scored on a scale of 0–100 (Assume the difference in anxiety between
adjacent units throughout the scale is not the same.)
f. The weight of a group of dieters
g. The time it takes to react to the sound of a tone
h. Proficiency in mathematics is scored on a scale of 0–100. The scale is well standardized and can be
thought of as having equal intervals between adjacent units.
i. Ratings of professors by students on a 50- point scale. There is an insufficient basis for assuming equal
intervals between adjacent units.

B. A student is measuring assertiveness with an interval scale. Is it correct to say that a score of 30 on the
scale represents half as much assertiveness as a score of 60? Explain.

C. Two independent market studies are conducted to measure the effect of a new advertising campaign for
a certain detergent. In the first study, the respondent housewives are asked whether they use the
detergent, whereas in the second study, the interviewers ask the respondent housewives to see what
detergent they use. Are the final estimates going to be close to each other? Why or why not?

D. When would the average score on a final exam be considered a parameter? When would it be
considered a statistic?