Please help with my Statistics class!!! (non-political question)

[Lost-in-FL]

Poll question: Please help with my Statistics class!!! (non-political question)

I need to ask a question to 25 people. To avoid a biased poll, I'm asking a non politics question. Here we go...

If there was a fight between GODZILLA and KING KONG, where would you put your bets on???

[zippy890]

1. the teeth win I think

:)

[IndyJones]

12. I'll admit why I chose blue...

I chose red in 2000 and it doesn't seem to have worked out well, so now I have been choosing blue more and more. King Kong was the blue choice, so there ya go.

Frankly, I'm a bit shocked to see so many here at DU chose the red selection. Hmmmm...perhaps that is a study for another thread, LOL!;)

[Lochloosa]

23. Welcome to DU

and glad your voting "blue"..but Godzilla would kick Kongs ass...just saying

[BillZBubb]

2. Gotta go with the 'Zilla

Kong gets too distracted by the babes.

[Lost-in-FL]

3. Lol

:rofl:

[bobbieinok]

4. always admired his statement when NPR interviewed him when he

made his come-back movie (there hadn't been a Godzilla movie for some years)

"When in Rome,........eat Rome."

[Rude Horner]

5. Something inside told me to vote

for the King-man. With that tail, 'zilla just doesn't have the range of motion that King's got. My prediction is that it would go four rounds, with 'Zilla definitely toasting a few hairs on King, but it ends with King killing the Zill in a choke hold.

Pay-per-view would eat it up. :)

[Joebert]

6. My avatar will tell you who I voted for.

Godzilla, the real, building smashing one, not the sissy one from the movie in the 90's.

He breathes fire, can jump further, etc.

He's the man, or, at least, the lizard.

:-)

[Lost-in-FL]

7. THANK YOU FOR THE RESPONSES...

:grouphug: :cry: :cry: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :yourock: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[IndyOp]

8. I teach statistics and I have to ask --

Did your prof say that this method of data collection was legitimate?

I always talk in my class about how very biased online polls can be. See 'How 1,000 people can be more representative than 200,000':
<http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3704453/>

What argument have you in regards to whether the results of your survey are legit, given that you are using an online poll?

:shrug:

[Lost-in-FL]

9. The class...

just started this week. I think it is part of the her teaching plan and she ultimately will tell us we did it wrong so we can learn. The little that I know since I just started reading is that because the answers on this poll are only voluntary it will make the poll biased anyway. I also tried to stay away from politics since that would make it biased too since all answers would be in the "liberal side" of the political spectrum. We were just told to ask a question (homework for the weekend), and investigate on what kind of method we were utilizing ... of course I would explain that it is not a legitimate poll since I am only asking a question to 25 people from the 76,000 people on DU. ;)

That is my argument, that online polls are not legitimate... I hate polls at least ever since Nov 2004.

[IndyOp]

19. Good response!

Voluntary response samples are usually biased. Check the link I gave you above - it is a really good example of how very biased online polls (voluntary response samples) can be.

Your best response: You asked a question about movie monsters because the answer to it is unlikely to be impacted by political leaning.

Also very good, if you are in a blue city or state: "I hate polls at least ever since Nov 2004." Last summer, virtually the minute I brought up the topic of samples and what constitutes a good sample or bad sample someone in my very red state asked, "So does this explain why the exit polls were wrong in the last election?" I did not hesitate to say that I had studied the controversy and believed that the exit polls were not in error - they were accurate. I further stated that it was interesting that exit polls have only been 'wrong' in races in which cheating was highly likely.

If you have to write a paper this semester - look up Stephen Freeman's paper on the probability of the election polls having been wrong. He is with U Penn, but wrote the paper so that it would communicate to bright people who were not statisticians.

I hope your stats class is enlightening!

:kick:

[Lost-in-FL]

28. Thank you so much

:toast:

[IndyJones]

13. Maybe the study was REALLY

To determine how many democrats would choose the red candidate, given the choice of a red and a blue. LOL!

[smartvoter]

10. Does this count? Not only is this an atypical group, we can see the

vote before we cast our own. I wouldn't think this would fly...

???? (Just curious).

[IndyJones]

16. Isn't that what some thought about the initial exit polls in 2004?

[Lost-in-FL]

18. You have a point

Something I will consider on my discussion... Thank you for your input.

[IndyOp]

20. Seeing the vote before you cast yours is an important issue -

People are influenced by what they perceive to be the opinion of 'most people' -- if most people think it is true, it must be true.

Advertizers use this to their advantage: Over half the homes in America have a Kenmore. Nine out of ten dentists recommend Trident.

If I see that most people are voting for Godzilla - I might be more likely to choose Godzilla. In my case, I almost clicked on King Kong, but saw that more people had chosen Godzilla and then thought, "Godzilla has sharp teeth!" I voted for Godzilla, but now that you bring this up, I wonder if I wasn't influenced by group opinion.

Hmmmmm....

The effect of seeing the other votes before you make your choice is somewhat ameliorated by the fact that voting is anonymous. None of us knows each other's vote - so there is a greater likelihood that people will vote their mind without worrying about what anyone else thinks of them.

[tom_paine]

11. I'll give you a kick

:kick:

[ellenfl]

14. king has better maneuverability.

does godzilla breath fire? that might make a difference. king's teeth aren't as sharp as god's either. king would have to wear god out, i guess. king wouldn't be able to bite thru god's hide, either, whereas god could easily penetrate king's. can i change my vote?

ellen fl

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Always pick the one who can breathe fire

------------------------------------------------------
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Then save the nation!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/electionreform.htm

[TahitiNut]

27. Yep. It's a "stand-off weapon."

It's why rifles are better than spears.

[Pepperbelly]

17. King Kong definitely smarter ...

I vote with my fellow simian and mammal.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

26. that's why i went Kong too

the brain is the ultimate weapon.

[Lochloosa]

21. King Kong Died...has Godzilla ever lost...?

[Squatch]

22. This is a statistics problem? Jeeze...they don't challenge students

anymore, do they?

Assignment: go out and ask a bazillion people a question on their preference given two choices. Determine the probability that a person will choose either of the given options.

[Lost-in-FL]

29. Well...

This is on top of a quiz, and several dicussion questions due by monday... This was just the "extra points' question.

[struggle4progress]

24. Why is Godzilla red and King Kong blue?

[Field Of Dreams]

25. Godzilla ... just his breath alone would do it!