Week 3 Responses

Please respond to the following. Make it respectful, but ask questions, utilize course material, use real like examples and acknowledgements or praises on the information.

Please cite on my text book as well w/ page numbers

Sullivan, M., III. (2025). Statistics: Informed decisions using data (7th ed.). Pearson.

Classmate 1 (Jawan)

In research, the decision to study an entire population versus a sample depends ideally on the size, accessibility, and purpose. A researcher may choose to study an entire population when the group is fairly small, clearly defined, and easily accessible. If a high school counselor wanted to assess stress levels among all seniors in one graduating class, it would be more practical to survey every senior rather than select a sample. Studying the entire population does eliminate sampling error and provides a complete picture of that specific group (Aron et al., 2013, p. 86). Nevertheless, when you’re dealing with large groups, like all high school students in California, its much easier and more affordable to use a sample.

Research questions that are aimed at assessing a specific, well-defined group are better suited for studying the entire population. Program evaluations or organizational assessments often focus on understanding a particular group rather than applying the findings to everyone. However, research questions that examine social media trends, global trends, or experiments across different groups are usually not ideal for studying every individual in the population. These types of experimental hypotheses typically require sampling because the populations are too large or constantly changing (Aron et al., 2013, p. 91). Sampling helps keep the research process manageable and still allows us to draw meaningful generalizations.

A good example of a hypothesis statement might be: The goal of this study is to explore how weekly study hours relate to exam performance among college students. It is suggested that students who spend more hours studying each week tend to score higher on exams. This statement clearly explains the research’s goal and highlights both the independent and dependent variables involved.

References

Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Coups, E. J. (2013). Statistics for psychology (6th ed.). Pearson.

Classmate #2 (Mom of 3 Actors)

Hello, Classmates and Professor

“If patients at the community clinic use a digital health portal for at least 10 minutes per week, then their reported satisfaction scores will increase compared to those who do not use the portal.”

A subset of that population is used when the group is too vast, geographically dispersed, or too expensive and time-consuming to reach in its entirety. By using a representative sample, you can make statistically valid inferences about the whole population at a fraction of the cost.

As a researcher, you would choose to study an entire population when the group is small, well-defined, and easily accessible. This approach is preferred when you need 100% accuracy or detailed information about every single member, such as in government censuses or studies of rare conditions where missing even one individual could skew the results.

As the intern, you would study the entire population of your specific clinic if you want to know exactly how your staff is doing. Because the group is small and you have their contact info, you can reach everyone. This gives you a “census” that is 100% accurate for your specific location, ensuring no single unhappy voice is missed.

You would use a sample if you were a researcher for a large healthcare network trying to see if kiosks work for all their 500+ clinics. It is impossible to survey every single one of their millions of patients. Instead, you would pick 1,000 diverse patients to represent the whole group. This saves millions of dollars and years of time while still providing a very reliable “educated guess” for the whole company.