24. A doctoral student is surveying chief executive officers (CEOs) to understand their levels of satisfaction with work-life balance over a period of three years. The student receives responses to survey with a question regarding how many hours a week each CEO works. Which statistical approach should be used to display the data for analysis?
Answer: D
Scatterplot is the appropriate statistical approach for this analysis.
A scatterplot will effectively display the relationship between the number of hours worked per week by each CEO and their reported satisfaction with work-life balance over the three-year period.
A) Mean
Using the mean provides a single average value of the hours worked, but it does not illustrate the distribution or relationship between hours worked and satisfaction levels. This approach would overlook the variability and patterns in the data, making it less effective for this analysis.
B) Bell curve
A bell curve, or normal distribution, is a theoretical model that represents how data is distributed around the mean. While it can indicate the general tendency of the data, it does not specifically facilitate the comparison of individual data points or the relationship between hours worked and work-life balance satisfaction.
C) Median
The median gives the middle value when hours worked are ordered, which can be useful for understanding the central tendency. However, like the mean, it does not provide insights into the correlation between hours worked and satisfaction levels, making it insufficient for this particular analysis.
D) Scatterplot
A scatterplot visually represents each CEO's hours worked against their satisfaction levels, allowing for the identification of trends, correlations, or outliers. This visualization is particularly useful for understanding relationships over time, making it the best choice for analyzing the data collected.
Conclusion
The scatterplot is the most effective statistical approach in this case as it allows for comprehensive analysis of the relationship between hours worked and work-life balance satisfaction among CEOs. In contrast, the mean, median, and bell curve fail to provide the necessary visualization of individual data points and their correlations, limiting the depth of analysis.