Factors that would affect the reliability of the data set
Reliability of the data can be described as the extent in which anyone can rely or bank on the dataset given. For a data to be reliable, it must be trustworthy, sure, genuine, authentic, dependable, reputable and unfailing. Reliability of the any data set is measured by consistency. Some of the factors that will affect the reliability are the proximity to given events. Most of the numerical data for instance the data used in this case are not always reliable, this could have resulted from the underestimation of the targeted population who are the guests at the Little town café. On the other hand, the number of the guests could have been overestimated. This could have been the main factor that may affect the reliability of the data set since the data was mainly obtained through counting of the number of guests at the café.
Factors that would affect the validity of the data set
Validity can be defined as the extent in which any measure or data has the qualities of close resemblance or true with the preexisting information. The data set given should reflect on the influx of guests at the hotel, there is some preexisting information on the estimated number of the guests who should be visiting the café. Therefore the validity of the data set would be influenced by inaccuracy in the process of data entry of the number of the guests. When the data is entered poorly, it will not reflect the expectation of the number of the guests visiting the hotel. Another factor that would affect the validity of the data is the calculations that may be made in the excel file, wrong entry of the formula would lead to wrong output and this would affect the validity.
Explain why this is (or is not) a suitable sample of quantitative data for the business scenario
This is a good sample because it takes into consideration the flow of guests into the café several days before the Memorial Day and several days after the Memorial Day. This would be of importance to the business because the sample can be used in trying to forecast on the total number of guests that will be visiting the café around the days before and after the Memorial Day. The sample of this type can be used in modeling of equations that will help the business predict the number of the guests that it may receive within any given time that surrounds an important occasion.
Data display in a chart
The type of chart that was selected is the line graph; this is because the line graph can show the distribution of the number of the guests over the selected three years. The line graph also gives the trend in the number of the guests visiting the café. The Memorial Day for the three years given above is between date 26th and 28th.
The trend in the rise of the guests around the memorial day is well illustrated in the graph above, the graphs averagely shoots at around date 23rd, this indicates that the influx of guests significantly increased at this time of the year. The line chart is also very easy to interpret by the user and it gives a clear virtual impression of the data sets (Cvetković et al 2004). From the line chart, one can also compare the trends in the individual years as the trends are indicated by different colors and explained in the legend of the chart.
Measures of the central tendency
The table above shows the measures of the central tendency that include the mean, median, mode and the standard deviation. From the mean of the data set, it can be seen that the year 2014 experienced the highest number of the guests compared to the other years; the year that received the least number of the guests was the year 2013.
Conclusion
The line chart shows the trend in the number of the guests visiting the hotel before and after the Memorial Day, this is very useful to the café since it will use this trend to adjust the number of the staff depending on the trend seen
The line chart also shows that the year 2014 saw the highest number of the guests visiting the café, this number may increase or decrease the following year depending on how the events will unfold. The management of the café should therefore have a rough idea of the number of guests and the corresponding number of staff that it should employ to efficiently serve the number.
The least number of guests was witnessed in 2013 and the highest is 2014, the management should therefore be aware that the number of customers falls in this range. They should use this approximation when hiring the employees.
References
Cvetković, D. M., Rowlinson, P., & Simić, S. (2004). Spectral generalizations of line graphs: On graphs with least eigenvalue -2. Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press.
