In several of the following exercises, you are asked to identify the type of data that is described. Possible answers include anecdotal data, available data, observational data that are from sample surveys, observational data that are not from sample surveys, and experiments. It is possible for some data to be classified in more than one category.

Question 3.12

3.12 Satisfaction with allocation of concert tickets.

Your college sponsored a concert that sold out.

  1. After the concert, an article in the student newspaper reported interviews with three students who were unable to get tickets and were very upset with that fact. What kind of data does this represent? Explain your answer.
  2. A week later, the student organization that sponsored the concert set up a website where students could rank their satisfaction with the way that the tickets were allocated using a 5-point scale with values “very satisfied,” “satisfied,” “neither satisfied nor unsatisfied,” “dissatisfied,” and “very dissatisfied.” The website was open to any students who chose to provide their opinion. How would you classify these data? Give reasons for your answer.
  3. Suppose that the website in part (b) was changed so that only a sample of students from the college were invited by text message to respond, and those who did not respond within three days were sent an additional text message reminding them to respond. How would your answer to part (b) change, if at all?
  4. Write a short summary contrasting different types of data using your answers to parts (a), (b), and (c) of this exercise.