Question

Shane has conducted an observational study to learn about how different media messages affect toy purchases. Shane surveyed 250 shoppers at the mall and found that 70% of the shoppers were shopping for a specific item they saw advertised on the internet.
What conclusion can Shane make from his study?

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

Given : Shane has conducted an observational study to learn about how different media messages affect toy purchases. Shane surveyed 250 shoppers at the mall and found that 70% of the shoppers were shopping for a specific item they saw advertised on the internet.

To find : What conclusion can Shane make from his study?

Solution :

According to Shane study,

he surveyed 250 shoppers at the mall and found that 70% of the shoppers were shopping for a specific item they saw advertised on the internet.

i.e. number of people were $70\%\text{ of } 250$

$\frac{70}{100}\times 250=175$

n=250-175=75

Out of 250 shoppers 75 shoppers were shopping for a specific item they saw advertised on the internet.

The conclusion can Shane make from his study,

There may be a link between advertisements on the internet and toy purchases as an internet advertisement causes shoppers to buy specific toys, but he cannot draw a cause-and-effect conclusion from an observational study.

Answer 2

Answer:

There may be a link between advertisements on the internet and toy purchases, but he cannot draw a cause-and-effect conclusion from an observational study.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on other sources, the options for this question are the following:

• There may be a link between advertisements on the internet and toy purchases, but he cannot draw a cause-and-effect conclusion from an observational study.
• There may be a link between advertisements on the internet and toy purchases, and he can draw a cause-and-effect conclusion from an observational study.
• An internet advertisement causes shoppers to buy specific toys, but he cannot draw a cause-and-effect conclusion from an observational study.
• An internet advertisement causes shoppers to buy specific toys, and he can draw a cause-and-effect conclusion from an observational study.

The correct answer is that Shane can conclude that it is possible that there is a link between advertisements on the internet and toy purchases. This seems to be the case based on the fact that the majority of people he talked to identified internet advertisements as influencing their purchases. However, it is not possible to establish a cause-and-effect conclusion from an observational study. Therefore, if Shane wants to definitely establish a cause-and-effect relationship, he would need to perform more research on the subject.