CASE 1 PAR Inc.

Par, Inc., is a major manufacturer of golf equipment. Management believes that Par’s
market share could be increased with the introduction of a cut-resistant, longer-lasting
golf ball. Therefore, the research group at Par has been investigating a new golf ball
coating designed to resist cuts and provide a more durable ball. The tests with the coating
have been promising.
One of the researchers voiced concern about the effect of the new coating on driving
distances. Par would like the new cut-resistant ball to offer driving distances comparable
to those of the current-model golf ball. To compare the driving distances for the two balls,
40 balls of both the new and current models were subjected to distance tests. The testing
was performed with a mechanical hitting machine so that any difference between the
mean distances for the two models could be attributed to a difference in the two models.
The results of the tests, with distances measured to the nearest yard, follow.

arial

Present your findings and answers to each equation in paragraph form. Include all
necessary computations/computer outputs to justify your answers.

1. Formulate and present the rationale for a hypothesis test that Par could use to compare
the driving distances of the current and new golf balls.
2. Analyze the data to provide the hypothesis testing conclusion. What is the p-value for
your test? What is your recommendation for Par, Inc.?
3. Provide descriptive statistical summaries of the data for each model.
4. What is the 95% confidence interval for the population mean of each model, and what
is the 95% confidence interval for the difference between the means of the two
populations?
5. Do you see a need for larger sample sizes and more testing with the golf balls? Discuss.
CASE 2 Wentworth Medical Center.

As part of a long-term study of individuals 65 years of age or older, sociologists and

physicians at the Wentworth Medical Center in upstate New York investigated the
relationship between geographic location and depression. Asample of 60 individuals, all
in reasonably good health, was selected; 20 individuals were residents of Florida, 20 were
residents of New York, and 20 were residents of North Carolina. Each of the individuals
sampled was given a standardized test to measure depression. The data collected follow;
higher test scores indicate higher levels of depression.

A second part of the study considered the relationship between geographic location and
depression for individuals 65 years of age or older who had a chronic health condition
such as arthritis, hypertension, and/or heart ailment. A sample of 60 individuals with such
conditions was identified. Again, 20 were residents of Florida, 20 were residents of New
York, and 20 were residents of North Carolina. The levels of depression recorded for this
study follow.
Present your findings and answers to each equation in paragraph form. Include all
necessary computations/computer outputs to justify your answers.

1. Use descriptive statistics to summarize the data from the two studies. What are your
preliminary observations about the depression scores?
2. Use analysis of variance on both data sets. State the hypotheses being tested in each
case. What are your conclusions?
3. Use inferences about individual treatment means where appropriate. What are your
conclusions?
4. Discuss extensions of this study or other analyses that you feel might be helpful.
CASE 3 A Bipartisan Agenda for Change.

In a study conducted by Zogby International for the Democrat and Chronicle, more than
700 New Yorkers were polled to determine whether the New York state government
works. Respondents surveyed were asked questions involving pay cuts for state
legislators, restrictions on lobbyists, term limits for legislators, and whether state citizens
should be able to put matters directly on the state ballot for a vote (Democrat and
Chronicle, December 7, 1997). The results regarding several proposed reforms had broad
support, crossing all demographic and political lines.

Suppose that a follow-up survey of 100 individualswholive in the western region ofNew
York was conducted. The party affiliation (Democrat, Independent, Republican) of each
individual surveyed was recorded, as well as their responses to the following three
questions.
1. Should legislative pay be cut for every day the state budget is late?
Yes ____ No ____
2. Should there be more restrictions on lobbyists?
Yes ____ No ____
3. Should there be term limits requiring that legislators serve a fixed number of years?
Yes ____ No ____

The responses were coded using 1 for a yes response and 2 for a no response. The
complete data set is available on the webpage with file named NYReform.xls.

Present your findings and answers to each equation in paragraph form. Include all
necessary computations/computer outputs to justify your answers.

1. Use descriptive statistics to summarize the data from this study. What are your
preliminary
conclusions about the independence of the response (Yes or No) and party
affiliation for each of the three questions in the survey?
2. With regard to question 1, test for the independence of the response (Yes and No)
and party affiliation. Use 𝛼 = 05.
3. With regard to question 2, test for the independence of the response (Yes and No)
and party affiliation. Use 𝛼 = 05.
4. With regard to question 3, test for the independence of the response (Yes and No)
and party affiliation. Use 𝛼 = 05.
5. Does it appear that there is broad support for change across all political lines? Explain.
CASE 4 Spending and Student Achievement.

Is the educational achievement level of students related to how much the state in which
they reside spends on education? In many community’s taxpayers are asking this
important question as school districts request tax revenue increases for education. In this
case, you will be asked to analyze data on spending and achievement scores in order to
determine whether there is any relationship between spending and student achievement
in the public schools.
The federal government’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program
is frequently used to measure the educational achievement of students. The following
table shows the total current spending per pupil per year, and the composite NAEP test
score for 35 states that participated in the NAEP program. These data are available on
the CD accompanying the text in the file named NAEP. The composite test score is the
sum of the math, science, and reading scores on the 1996 (1994 for reading) NAEP test.
Pupils tested are in grade 8, except for reading, which is given to fourth-graders only. The
maximum possible score is 1300. Table 12.9 shows the spending per pupil for 13 states
that did not participate in relevant NAEP surveys. These data were reported in an article
on spending and achievement level appearing in Forbes (November 3, 1997).
1. Develop numerical and graphical summaries of the data.
2. Use regression analysis to investigate the relationship between the amount spent per
pupil and the composite score on the NAEP test. Discuss your findings.
3. Do you think that the estimated regression equation developed for these data could
be used to estimate the composite test scores for the states that did not participate in
the NAEP program?
4. Suppose that you only considered states that spend at least $4000 per pupil but not
more than $6000 per pupil. For these states, does the relationship between the two
variables appear to be any different than for the complete data set? Discuss the results
of your findings and whether you think deleting states with spending less than
$4000 per year and more than $6000 per pupil is appropriate.
5. Develop estimates of the composite test scores for the states that did not participate
in the NAEP program.
6. Based upon your analyses, do you think that the educational achievement level of
students is related to how much the state spends on education?
CASE 5 Major League Baseball Team Values.

A group led by John Henry paid $700 million to purchase the Boston Red Sox in 2002,
even though the Red Sox had not won the World Series since 1918 and posted an
operating loss of $11.4 million for 2001. Moreover, Forbes magazine estimates that the
current value of the team is actually $426 million. Forbes attributes the difference between
the current value for a team and the price investors are willing to pay to the fact that the
purchase of a team often includes the acquisition of a grossly undervalued cable network.
For instance, in purchasing the Boston Red Sox, the new owners also got an 80% interest
in the New England Sports Network. The table shows data for the 30 major league teams
(Forbes, April 15, 2002). The column labeled Value contains the values of the teams
based on current stadium deals, without deduction for debt. The column labeled Income
indicates the earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation.

1. Develop numerical and graphical summaries of the data.

2. Use regression analysis to investigate the relationship between value and income.
Discuss your findings.
3. Use regression analysis to investigate the relationship between value and revenue.
Discuss your findings.
4. What conclusions and recommendations can you derive from your analysis?
CASE 6 Unemployment Study.

Quality Associates, Inc., a consulting firm, advises its clients about sampling and
statistical
procedures that can be used to control their manufacturing processes. In one particular
application, a client gave Quality Associates a sample of 800 observations taken during
a
time in which that client’s process was operating satisfactorily. The sample standard
deviation
for these data was .21; hence, with so much data, the population standard deviation
was assumed to be .21. Quality Associates then suggested that random samples of size
30
be taken periodically to monitor the process on an ongoing basis. By analyzing the new
samples, the client could quickly learn whether the process was operating satisfactorily.
When the process was not operating satisfactorily, corrective action could be taken to
eliminate
the problem. The design specification indicated the mean for the process should be 12.
The hypothesis test suggested by Quality Associates follows.

Corrective action will be taken any time 𝐻0 is rejected.

The following samples were collected at hourly intervals during the first day of operation
of the new statistical process control procedure.

1. Conduct a hypothesis test for each sample at the .01 level of significance and
determine what action, if any, should be taken. Provide the test statistic and p-value
for each test.

2. Compute the standard deviation for each of the four samples. Does the assumption
of .21 for the population standard deviation appear reasonable?

3. Compute limits for the sample mean around μ = 12 such that, as long as a new sample
mean is within those limits, the process will be considered to be operating satisfactorily.
If exceeds the upper limit or if is below the lower limit, corrective action will be taken.
These limits are referred to as upper and lower control limits for quality control purposes.

4. Discuss the implications of changing the level of significance to a larger value. What
mistake or error could increase if the level of significance is increased?