Question

Researchers would like to determine if reviewing material consistently within an hour after class helps students perform better on exams than if students wait to review material the day before the exam. To answer this question the researchers are trying to determine if an observational study or an experiment would be more appropriate. They are discussing who the population would be and how they will determine which sampling method will best represent the population. Which of the five steps of the statistical process are the researchers currently applying?

A) Design the Study.
B) Collect Data.
C) Describe the Data.
D)Make Inferences.
E)Take Action.

Answer 1

The researchers are in the process of 'Design the Study', determining study type, population, and sampling method to investigate the relationship between review timing and exam performance.

Step-by-step explanation:

The researchers are currently applying Design the Study, which is the critical first step in conducting a statistical process. This entails making decisions about whether to conduct an observational study or an experiment to investigate the impact of studying on students' exam performance, determining the population they wish to study, and choosing a sampling method that represents the population effectively. Deciding the design involves several considerations, such as the ethical implications of manipulating variables, the practicality of observations, and the operational definitions used to ensure consistency and replicability across studies.

To explore further, let's use the given examples of other research scenarios. In the heart attack and aspirin study, researchers created an experiment with a placebo to assess the effectiveness of aspirin in preventing heart attacks—hence, they applied random selection and random assignment, critical components of an experimental design. Polling companies, however, often use surveys for their studies, which involves identifying the desired population and creating a random, representative sample, this aligns with the current tasks the researchers in the original question are undertaking.