Statistical Literacy Web Survey

1. What best describes how comfortable you are in dealing with formal statistics
(e.g., chance, probability, sampling distributions, confidence intervals, etc.)?
very comfortable
somewhat comfortable
somewhat uncomfortable
very uncomfortable

2. What best describes how comfortable you are in dealing with informal statistics
(e.g., reading and interpreting tables and graphs that use rates and percentages)?

very comfortable
somewhat comfortable
somewhat uncomfortable
very uncomfortable

3. What best describes how quantitative your work, teaching, area of study or daily life is? (If retired, you may use your prior occupation.)

extremely quantitative (e.g., mathematics, statistics, etc.)
highly quantitative (e.g., finance, econometrics, accounting, science, engineering, epidemiology, etc.)
moderately quantitative (e.g., psychology, sociology, MIS, market research, forecasting, etc.)
minimally quantitative (e.g., business management, education, journalism, health care, etc.)
generally non-quantitative (e.g., child-care, music, art, English, philosophy, etc.)

4. What best describes your occupation? (If retired, you may use your prior occupation.)

student
teacher, elementary/secondary
teacher, college
other professions
other

5. What best describes your highest level of schooling completed?

Primary school
Secondary school / high school
Two-year college (Associate degree)
Four-year college (Bachelor's degree)
Graduate degree (Master's or Ph.D.)

6. What best describes your fluency in English?

English was a native language by primary school
Became fluent in speaking and reading English after primary school
Not yet fluent in speaking and reading English

7. How many undergraduate statistics courses have you completed?

None
One
Two
Three
Four or more

8. What is your age?

Under 18
18 - 24
25 - 44
45 and older



For the following questions select the one answer you think best.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in these charts.


[image]

Do you think the following statements accurately describe the data shown in this pie chart?


9. 20% of smokers are Catholics.

Yes
No
Don't know

10. Protestants (40%) are twice as likely to be smokers as are Catholics (20%).

Yes
No
Don't know



For the following questions select the one answer you think best.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in these charts.


[image]

Do you think the following statement accurately describes the data shown in this bar chart?


11. 20% of Protestant males are runners.

Yes
No
Don't know



Select the one answer you think best.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in this scatter plot.


[image]

Do you think the following statements are accurate interpretations of the scatter graph shown above?


12. Adults who weigh more tend to be taller (than those who weigh less).

Yes
No
Don't know

13. The more an adult weighs, the taller they tend to be.

Yes
No
Don't know

14. (Typically) as weight increases, height increases.

Yes
No
Don't know

[image]

15. As adults' weights increase, their heights tend to increase.

Yes
No
Don't know

16. As an adult's weight increases, their height tends to increase.

Yes
No
Don't know

17. An adult who weighs more will tend to be taller.

Yes
No
Don't know

[image]

18. As an adult weighs more the taller they will tend to be.

Yes
No
Don't know

19. If an adult increases their weight, they can expect to increase their height.

Yes
No
Don't know

20. If weight increases, height will tend to increase.

Yes
No
Don't know



Select the one answer you think best.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in this chart.


[image]

Do you think the following statements are accurate interpretations of the scatter graph shown above?


21. As the percentage of Protestants increases, the rate of suicides tends to increase.
Yes
No
Don't know

22. Protestants are more likely to commit suicide than non-Protestants (are).

Yes
No
Don't know



Circle the one answer you think best.
Circle “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in this table.


[image]

Do you think the following statements accurately describe the 25% circled above?


23. 25% of females are blacks.
Yes
No
Don't know

24. 25% of blacks are females.

Yes
No
Don't know

25. 25% is the percentage of blacks among females.

Yes
No
Don't know

26. 25% is the percentage who are females among blacks.

Yes
No
Don't know

[image]

Do you think these statements below accurately compare the 25% circled with the 50% immediately below it?


27. Whites are two times as likely to be female than are blacks.

Yes
No
Don't know

28. Females are two times as likely to be white as to be black.

Yes
No
Don't know

29. Whites are two times more likely to be female than are blacks.

Yes
No
Don't know



Select the one answer you think best.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in this table.


[image]

Do you think the following statements accurately describe the 20% circled above?


30. 20% of runners are female smokers.
Yes
No
Don't know

31. 20% of females are runners who smoke.

Yes
No
Don't know

32. 20% of female smokers are runners.

Yes
No
Don't know

[image]

33. 20% of smokers are females who run.

Yes
No
Don't know

34. Among female smokers, 20% is the percentage of runners.

Yes
No
Don't know

35. Among females, 20% is the percentage of smokers who are runners.

Yes
No
Don't know

[image]

Do you think these statements accurately compare the circled 20% with the 10% immediately below it?


36. The percentage of runners is twice as much among female smokers as among male smokers.

Yes
No
Don't know

37. The percentage of smokers who run is twice as much among females as among males.

Yes
No
Don't know

38. Among these smokers, males are twice as likely to be runners as are females.

Yes
No
Don't know



Select only one of the answers to each question.
Two statements “MEAN THE SAME THING” if one can always be substituted for the other.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.


39. In your opinion, do these two statements mean the same thing?
  • Twenty percent (20%) of high-school dropouts are black.
  • Blacks have a 20% chance of dropping out.

Yes
No
Don't know

40. In your opinion, do these two statements mean the same thing?

  • Studies show that television violence is strongly linked with juvenile delinquency.
  • Studies show that television violence is a cause of juvenile delinquency.

Yes
No
Don't know

41. Which study gives better evidence that taking zinc will decrease a nurse's risk of a heart attack?

  • In study A, some nurses chose to take supplements containing zinc while others did not. Those nurses who took zinc had 30% fewer heart attacks than those who did not.
  • In study B, half of the nurses were randomly assigned to take zinc; the others got a placebo. Those nurses who received zinc had 10% fewer heart attacks than those who did not.

Study A
Study B
Equal support
Don't know

42. Which study gives better evidence that taking zinc will decrease a nurse's risk of a heart attack?

  • In study A, some nurses chose to take supplements containing zinc while others did not. Those nurses who took zinc had 20% fewer heart attacks than those who did not.
  • In study B, half of the nurses were randomly assigned to take zinc; the others got a placebo. Those nurses who received zinc had 20% fewer heart attacks than those who did not.

Study A
Study B
Equal support
Don't know

43. In 2000, a research hospital had a higher death rate than a rural hospital.

    Each patient's condition was classified as either "poor" or "fair."

    Is it possible that in 2000, this research hospital had a lower death rate than this rural hospital for those patients in "poor" condition AND for those patients in "fair" condition?

Yes, possible
No, impossible
Don't know



Select the one answer you think best.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in this table.


[image]

Do you think the following statements accurately describe the 26.2% circled above?


44. In 1990, 26.2% was the percentage of smokers who were black.
Yes
No
Don't know

45. In 1990, 26.2% of blacks were smokers.

Yes
No
Don't know

46. In 1990, 26.2% was the percentage of black smokers.

Yes
No
Don't know

[image]

47. In 1990, 26.2% of smokers were black.

Yes
No
Don't know

48. In 1990, 26.2% was the percentage of blacks who were smokers.

Yes
No
Don't know



Select the one answer you think best.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in this table.


[image]

Do you think the following statements accurately describe the 6.0 circled above?


49. In the US in 1996, 6% of low-weight births were in California (CA).
Yes
No
Don't know

50. In the US in 1996, the percentage of California births among low-weight births was 6%.

Yes
No
Don't know

51. In the US in 1996, 6% of California births were low-weight.

Yes
No
Don't know

[image]

Do you think this statement accurately compares the 6.0% in California(CA) with 9.3% in Alabama(AL)?


52. In the US in 1996, there were more low weight births in Alabama (AL) than in California (CA).

Yes
No
Don't know



Select the one answer you think best.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in this table.


[image]

Do you think the following statements accurately describe the 10.0% circled above?



53. 10% of these women who received an HIV test were 40-44.
Yes
No
Don't know

54. 10% of these women 40 to 44 received an HIV test.

Yes
No
Don't know

55. Among those women who received an HIV test, the percentage of those 40-44 was 10%.

Yes
No
Don't know

56. Among these women 40-44, the percentage who received an HIV test was 10%.

Yes
No
Don't know

[image]

Do you think the following statements accurately compare the 10% and the 20% circled above?


57. Women 40-44 were twice as likely to have an HIV test as were women 20-24.

Yes
No
Don't know

58. HIV tests were twice as likely to be administered to women 20-24 as to women 40-44.

Yes
No
Don't know

59. Women 20-24 were two times more likely to have an HIV test than were women 40-44.

Yes
No
Don't know



Select the one answer you think best.
Select “DON’T KNOW” if any other answer would be just a guess.
Assume that all these statements apply just to the subjects in this table.


[image]

Do you think the following statements accurately describe the 16.1 circled above?

60. In 1995, the death rate due to motor vehicle accidents was 16.1 per 100,000 Alaskans.
Yes
No
Don't know

61. In 1995, for those in motor vehicle accidents, the death rate was 16.1 per 100,000 Alaskans.

Yes
No
Don't know

62. In 1995, the rate of motor vehicle accidents was 16.1 per 100,000 Alaskans.

Yes
No
Don't know

63. In 1995 for Alaskans who were in motor vehicle accidents, the death rate was 16.1 per 100,000.

Yes
No
Don't know

Please give your evaluation of this survey:


64. This survey was much more difficult than I thought it would be.

Strongly agree
Moderately agree
Moderately disagree
Strongly disagree

65. This survey was much more subtle than I thought it would be.

Strongly agree
Moderately agree
Moderately disagree
Strongly disagree

66. This survey was unnecessarily tricky.

Strongly agree
Moderately agree
Moderately disagree
Strongly disagree

67. I felt considerable discomfort in taking part or all of this survey.

Strongly agree
Moderately agree
Moderately disagree
Strongly disagree



Please evaluate the relevance and importance of reading these tables and graphs:
68. These tables and graphs are the kind I need and/or want to be able to read or understand.
Strongly agree
Moderately agree
Moderately disagree
Strongly disagree

69. College students should be able to read these kinds of tables and graphs.

Strongly agree
Moderately agree
Moderately disagree
Strongly disagree



70. What is your primary professional association?
No affiliation with any quantitative professional association.
ASA: American Statistical Association.
RSS: Royal Statistical Society.
IASE: International Association of Statistical Educators.
ISI: International Statistical Association.
NCTM: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
MAA: Mathematics Association of America.
AMS: American Mathematical Society.
AMATYC: American Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges.
An other international Mathematical Association
An other international Statistical Association
Other

71. Please identify your primary major in college.

Never had a major.
Business - MBA
Business - non MBA
Other social science (e.g., sociology, economics, political science, psychology)
Other professions (e.g., education, social work)
Physical science (e.g., physics, chemistry, biology)
Engineering
Formal sciences (e.g., mathematics, computer science)
Humanities (e.g., philosophy, art, music, drama, communications, english, history, language
Health sciences (e.g., nursing, forensics, physicians assistant
Other

72. What country are you based in?

USA
United Kingdom
Europe: other EUC
Europe: non EUC
North America: non US
Australia - New Zealand
Asia, including India
Africa
South and Central America
Middle East
Russia
Other

73. Please comment on anything related to your taking of this survey.


End of Survey. Thank you!

© W. M. Keck Statistical Literacy Project. 2002. All rights reserved.



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