Question

For the following assignment:



a) Identify the question, population, and sample.


b) Discuss any potential bias or lurking variables that may affect the results.


c) Write about the extent to which we can generalize the findings to all people who use cell phones.



In the London Sunday Times, Jonathan Leske reported on a study that investigated cell phone use as a cause of cancer. This study compared a group of 118 people with an eye cancer (uveal melanoma) with a control group of 475 people without the disease. The group with cancer had a much higher rate of cell phone use than the control group.

Answer 1

Explanation:

Here population is the people as a whole who use telephone.

Sample is the 118 people with eye cancer surveyed and 475 in control group without the disease.

b) Family history, parents having cancer, other habits such as smoking, or alcohol are lurking variables.

c) We can generalize the findings to all people by

i) increasing sample size. The maximum sample size the less the error.

ii) Samples taken at strictly random procedure without any bias

iii) samples taken over a spread population of various regions, countries, cultures, food habits, etc.

iv) Grouping into persons with smoking, with alcohol, etc will improve the results by reducing the variation due to lurking variables.