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Data handling and analysis

Data handling and analysis

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Question 103

A transport analyst is investigating how the implementation of a new congestion charge in a city center affects average vehicular speeds.

The analyst has access to two sources of data:

  • Source 1: Speed readings from 50 induction loop sensors that the analyst personally installed at key junctions for 2 weeks prior to and 2 weeks after the charge was introduced.
  • Source 2: Anonymised GPS trip data for 10,000 10,000\,10,000 vehicles over the last 5 years, purchased from a commercial fleet management company.

Identify the correct statement regarding the classification and utility of these data sources.

A

Source 1 is primary data, allowing the analyst direct control over the measurement conditions, whereas Source 2 is secondary data, providing a vast historical baseline but carrying the risk of unknown data-cleaning or selection bias by the third party.

B

Source 1 is secondary data because it relies on automated physical sensors rather than manual tallies, whereas Source 2 is primary data because GPS tracking captures the exact, raw coordinates of the vehicles in real time.

C

Source 1 is primary data and is always preferred over Source 2, because secondary data from commercial databases is mathematically invalid for hypothesis testing due to the absence of a control group.

D

Source 1 is secondary data because the sampling period (4 weeks) is too short to represent the population, whereas Source 2 is primary data because the 5-year span is long enough to establish true population parameters.

Markscheme

Data handling and analysis Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Psychology
  3. /Data handling and analysis

235 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Data handling and analysis. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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