Recession Careers

AP* Statistics – Investigative Task
Chapter 20
Recession Careers
Have current events such as the recession and/or the Occupy Wall Street movement impacted the
opinions and choices of recent college graduates? A polling organization wants to investigate
how this year’s college graduates compare to those of prior years.
Question #1:
Researchers asked 2011-2012 college graduates “To
what extent do you agree with the following statement:
My investment in my education was worthwhile?” The
reported results are shown at right1. The pollsters hope
to estimate the percentage of next year’s college who
would strongly agree or agree with a margin of error no
greater than 5%. What size sample would suffice if they
want to have 90% confidence in the estimate?
Strongly Agree
39%
Agree
38%
Neither Agree
Nor Disagree
14%
Disagree
7%
Strongly Disagree 2%
Question #2:
A random sample of 1010 college graduates in 2013
found that 435 are willing to accept a lower salary due to the current economy1.
Construct a 95% confidence interval for the true percentage of all 2013 college graduates
who are willing to accept a lower salary. Explain carefully what your interval means.
Question #3:
In 2000, when the economy was performing well and prior to the current recession and
the development of the Occupy Wall Street movement, about 20% of college graduates
majored in business2. A survey of 2013 graduates (n=1010) conducted by Accenture
reported that 182 of them majored in business1. Do these data suggest that the percentage
who major in business has been adversely impacted by the events described? Test an
appropriate hypothesis and state your conclusion.
Question #4:
2012-2012
2013
Many commentators have indicated that, as a
1005
1010
n
result of high recession-related unemployment
62%/38%
75%/25%
Yes/No
rates, college students are placing much more
emphasis on post-graduation employability when selecting their course of study. A
random sample of 2011-2012 college graduates and a random sample of 2013 college
graduates were asked: “Did you consider the availability of jobs in your field before
deciding your major?”1 Based on the results as shown, test the hypothesis that students
are becoming more concerned with future job prospects when deciding college major.
Question #5:
Referring to your conclusion in Question #3, explain, in this context, what a Type I error
and a Type II error would be.
1
http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-2013-College-Graduate-Employment-Survey.pdf
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d11/figures/fig_16.asp?referrer=figures
2