Question

Which is a statistical question that could have been asked to collect the data shown in the dot plot below? (Pick one)

Answer 1

Answer: The correct option is the first question; How many times did we buy a school lunch last week?

Step-by-step explanation: When collecting data for the purpose of statistics and data analyses, the exercise involved goes beyond just asking questions. It is actually about asking questions that would provide data or information with a measure of variability. That would help in deciding which data can be best suited to represent the entire data collected.

The question how many days were in last month is not a statistical question because the answer is pretty much straight forward. The number of days in the previous month cannot vary, it will always be the same, hence the answer would be not be useful for any kind of statistical analyses.

Also, asking "Is your favorite number 5?" is not a statistical question because the answer is a yes or no. This does not allow for any kind of statistical analyses. Its as good as a 'dead end.'

However, asking how many times we bought a school lunch last week is a statistical question because the data collected would have a good measure of variability. That is, the data cannot be the same for all respondents. Unlike in the second question where the answer is already known and unchangeable, the answer to this question is not going to be a fixed one and as the respondents provide varying answers, you can now begin to measure the point at which all the answers are likely to agree (measure of central tendency) which is a basic part of statistics.