An actual statistician wrote:
So I'm assuming the chapter on voluntary response bias hasn't come up? Runners take odd pride in their strangely low weights, so you're probably going to get a bunch of borderline anorexics. (also, if it's not obvious already, you're getting a bunch of liars--good luck separating the lies from the facts).
Also, how do you define "runner"? The 15mpw guy (5'7" 235#) who posts on runnersworld.com would claim to be just as much a runner as the guys here who run 10x that much.
More importantly, the level of the athlete really comes into play for the other sports: high-school, college, and pro-level players obviously have different height and weight characteristics (not to mention that if you went to a punter's message board and used those stats for your stupid project you'd have totally meaningless "football" data).
And then you run into the obvious problem that many if not most of the runners here are amateurs. What the f*** is an amateur football player? Have YOU ever seen a game played? Or amateur baseball? Is the overweight guy who plays pickup basketball once a month a "basketball player"?
It's idiots like you who compare apples to oranges who give statistics a very bad name. My guess is you'll get frustrated with the BS here and only use data the prove your hypothesis. I hope (pray?) that your teacher/professor (God help us all if he had a Ph.d) wasn't dumb enough to approve such nonsense when you can't even define who should be in your survey. Not that you care.
Oh right, Male 6'1" 105#, 10mpw. Or 5'2" 285#, 110mpw.
Stat student wrote:
What is your problem. I'm a student in a entry level stat course (and no i'm not a statistics major or anything). This study is not going to be published and will never be submitted to anything other than my professor for a grade. I know what bias is, and know that this is by far, not the best or accurate way at conducting this. What the assignment is about is simply applying data we obtain in statistics, not to be flawless. I will report what is given to me, even the obvious lies (but I will note this in my report.)
I take offense to your, "Idiot" statement. If I had more time, and was doing this for a journal to be published. I would have much more control over how this is conducted. I would have a more defined definition of "Runner" as well as "other athlete."
The whole idea is to get a simple comparison between the weight average's between runners (who I suspect to weight he less), other athletes (To be in shape, but not super lighweight), and non-athletes (whom the majority would likely be overweight)...