1.10 Practice: sampling and data

Student learning outcomes

• The student will construct frequency tables.
• The student will differentiate between key terms.
• The student will compare sampling techniques.

Given

Studies are often done by pharmaceutical companies to determine the effectiveness of a treatment program. Suppose that a new AIDS antibody drug is currently under study. It is given to patients once the AIDS symptoms have revealed themselves. Of interest is the average(mean) length of time in months patients live once starting the treatment. Two researchers each follow a different set of 40 AIDS patients from the start of treatment until their deaths. The following data (in months) are collected.

Researcher a

• 3
• 4
• 11
• 15
• 16
• 17
• 22
• 44
• 37
• 16
• 14
• 24
• 25
• 15
• 26
• 27
• 33
• 29
• 35
• 44
• 13
• 21
• 22
• 10
• 12
• 8
• 40
• 32
• 26
• 27
• 31
• 34
• 29
• 17
• 8
• 24
• 18
• 47
• 33
• 34

Researcher b

• 3
• 14
• 11
• 5
• 16
• 17
• 28
• 41
• 31
• 18
• 14
• 14
• 26
• 25
• 21
• 22
• 31
• 2
• 35
• 44
• 23
• 21
• 21
• 16
• 12
• 18
• 41
• 22
• 16
• 25
• 33
• 34
• 29
• 13
• 18
• 24
• 23
• 42
• 33
• 29

Organize the data

Complete the tables below using the data provided.

Key terms

Define the key terms based upon the above example for Researcher A.

Discussion questions

Discuss the following questions and then answer in complete sentences.