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Caitlyn Farragher

Sam Ho

Terrie Tin

“Who should pay for most of the dates?”

This survey is conducted to study male and female’s opinions on who should pay for most of the dates.
It collects information from randomly selected Cushing students and faculty members. Each seat in the
table in the dining hall is assigned a number 1-10 as shown in the graphic below.

S c h o o l S t r e e t

Twenty sets (each set consists of two random numbers) of random numbers are computed with a TI-83
graphing calculator. If the two random numbers are the same, only one survey will be conducted for the
respective table. Only tables with more than 5 people would participate in the survey. If no one is
seated in the chosen seat and more than 6 people are seated in the table, the person sitting on the right
of the chosen seat or closest to the chosen seat would take the survey. If that person is also chosen to
take the survey, only one sample would be taken; the sample will be treated as non-respondent.

An index card is given to each chosen individual; the individual will fill in one’s gender and one’s
response to the question. Each individual’s choice for the answer of the survey would be male, female or
split.

The objective of the survey is to study if there is a significant difference between male and female’s
responses.
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Survey Results:

Boys Girls Split Total

Male 13 6 8 27
Female 3 0 10 13
Total 16 6 18 40

Conditional
“*A+ conditional distribution gives the proportions or percents for all possible values.” (Moore 586). The
conditional values in the following cells are the specific cell divided by the total number in the column or
row.

Given the individuals’ responses, the distribution of the gender is shown below:
Boys Girls Split
Male 81.25% 100% 44.44%
Female 18.75% 0% 55.56%

Given the gender of the individual, the distribution of the response is shown below:
Boys Girls Split
Male 48.15% 22.22% 29.63%
Female 23.08% 0% 76.92%

Joint
Joint distribution of each cell is the count of the cell divide by the sample size.
The following is the joint distribution for our survey result:
Boys Girls Split
Male 32.5% 15% 20%
Female 7.5% 0% 25%

Marginal
The margin distribution shows the distribution for a single categorical variable. In order to receive the
values in the charts below you have to take the total of each column or row and divide it by the entire
sample total.

The following is the marginal distribution for responses:

Boys Girls Split
Proportion 40% 15% 45%

The following is the marginal distribution for gender:

Male Female
Proportion 67.5% 32.5%
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H0 is the null hypothesis. “The statement being tested in a test of significance is called the null
hypothesis. The test of significance is designed to assess the strength of the evidence against the null
hypothesis. Usually the null hypothesis is a statement of ‘no effect’ or ‘no difference’” (Moore 403). On
the other hand, HA is the alternative hypothesis, “the statement we hope or suspect is true instead of
H0” (Moore 403).

It is suspected that there is a difference between male and female’s opinion to who should pay for most
of the dates because of the issue of money involved. Therefore, the null hypothesis and the alternative
hypothesis would be the following:
H0: There is no difference between male and female’s response
HA: There is a significant difference between male and female’s responses

In order to test the null hypothesis of the two way table, a Chi-square statistics would be needed. “*It+ is
a measure of how much the observed cell counts in a two-way table diverge from the expected cell
counts” (Moore 596). The following is the formula for the statistic:

(𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡)2

𝑋2 =
𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡

In the formula, the “observed count” represents the actual count of samples, and the “expected count”
is the product of the total counts of the cell’s respected row and column.

Boys Girls Split Total

Male 13 6 8 27
(Expected count) 10.8 4.05 12.15
Female 3 0 10 13
(Expected count) 5.2 1.95 5.85
Total 16 6 18 40

(𝑜𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡)2

𝑋2 =
𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡

(13 − 10.8)2 (6 − 4.05)2 (8 − 12.15)2 (3 − 5.2)2 (0 − 1.95)2 (10 − 5.85)2

𝑋2 = + + + + +
10.8 4.05 12.15 5.2 1.95 5.85

𝑋2 = 8.63

𝐷𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑚 𝑑𝑓 = 𝑟𝑜𝑤 − 1 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛 − 1 = 2 − 1 3 − 1 = 2

By running the 𝑋2 test on TI-83 graphing calculator, p-value = 0.0134.

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From the statistical analysis, the null hypothesis, H0, is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis at a
5% significance level. In other words, there is a significant difference between male and female’s
response. The p-value is the probability of obtaining a value as extreme or more extreme than the data
collected, assuming that H0 is true. Since the p-value obtained from this set of data is less than 0.05,
there is a less than 5% chance that there is no difference between male and female’s view to the
question.

Moreover, the findings of the survey make a lot of sense. No female expects themselves to pay for most
of the dates as shown in the marginal distribution. It is a little surprising that a majority of girls think the
bill for the dates should be split. On the other hand, male individuals chosen to do the survey are more
likely to claim they would pay for most of the dates; however, some of these individuals may not have
responded honestly under peers’ pressure.

The followings are other possible causes of errors:

 Although the survey is supposed to be conducted anonymously, individuals do let their peers see
their answer. As a result, some individuals may not answer the question honestly.
 Most of the students do not eat dinner in the dining hall; their voices are ignored.
 The existence of lurking variables is ignored. Individuals’ cultural and financial background may have
a huge impact on their responses to the question. There may exist a huge gap between the status of
men and women in some cultures; also, wealthier male are more likely to pay for their dates.
 Some students had practice when the survey was conducted.

The survey was not perfect, and there are a number of ways to improve it. The survey samples would be
more random if the survey is conducted with the presence of the whole student body. For example, it
can be conducted at a formal dinner. However, with the limited time given, the current way of
randomizing was the most suitable and efficient way. Although more samples may be taken, the voices
from 10% of the student are sufficient; a sample size of more than 40 may affect the independency of
the survey.

Work Cited

Moore, David S., and George P. McCabe. Introduction to the Practice of

Statistics. 5th ed. New York: W.H. Freeman & Company, 2005.