Q3: Poll Analysis [40 points]

Investigate the validity of a poll for yourself, using what Wheelan has taught us about these
instruments’ potential biases. Start by finding a recently published poll online. (If you don’t
frequent news websites or have a particular issue in mind, an easy way to find a recent poll is to
go to a website like gallup.com, or you can Google something like “new york times poll,”
“washington post poll,” “cnn poll,” etc.) State what poll you’re investigating, who carried it out
and when, and where it can be found online (with a specific URL). Next, find and read the
description of the poll’s methodology, and summarize the sampling methods used to collect the
data. Then skim the poll’s questions and evaluate how well some of the more interesting
questions avoid bias through their wording. Give three examples, either of bad choices of
wording, or of good choices where different wording might have produced biased answers.
Finally, evaluate the overall validity of the poll. Does the sampling method seem like it provides a
sample representative of the respective population? Are the questions asked in such a way as to
promote honest and accurate answers?

Q4: Statistics, the Breakfast of Champions [40 points]

Imagine that you’ve just collected a bunch of data on college students, particularly their eating
habits and their performance in school. Because of all that you’ve learned from Wheelan, your
sampling and measurement methods are flawless, so now you’re ready to do some hypothesis
testing. You’re convinced that college students who eat Wheaties breakfast cereal (the “breakfast
of champions”) get better grades than those who do not eat Wheaties. Beyond that, you believe
that the more Wheaties a given student eats, the better his or her grades will be. Describe and
explain the process of carrying out your test of this hypothesis, step by step, beginning with a null
hypothesis and finally stating your findings. (Make up the needed unknown statistics if it makes it
easier to describe and explain the process.)