Question

In an effort to compare the mathematical abilities of men and women, an investigator administers a test to 100 male engineering majors and 100 women who answered an ad in the newspaper. What is wrong with this study?

a) The sample size is too small.
b) The investigator used a random sample.
c) The sampling method introduces bias.
d) There is no issue with the study.

Answer 1

c) The sampling method introduces bias. The study has a biased sampling method by comparing male engineering majors to a non-specific group of women,

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer is option c) The sampling method introduces bias. The issue with the study lies in the sampling method, which compares 100 male engineering majors and 100 women who responded to a newspaper ad. This poses a significant risk for sample bias because the two groups are not comparable.

The male group consists exclusively of engineering majors, which suggests a focused group of individuals that have been more likely encouraged and prepared for a career in mathematics and have possibly taken more math courses.

Meanwhile, the female group's background is unknown and may well represent a wider array of academic and professional interests. This disparity in group composition can lead to skewed results that do not accurately reflect the mathematical abilities of men and women in general.

For a study comparing mathematical abilities between genders, it would be important to have a more random and representative sample, such as randomly selecting engineering majors and non-engineering majors from both genders.

This would help to minimize the influence of potential lurking variables and provide a more accurate comparison of mathematical abilities between men and women.