1. Introduction
Arising from a conversation among friends and fellow students, there seemed to be conflicting views about the relative merits of men and women drivers and in particular whether one sex or the other was more likely to have been caught speeding.
As a consequence, I decided to conduct a survey among as many friends and acquaintances as possible, to determine the actual situation, at least far as my sample is concerned. My own view is that more of my female acquaintances than males have received speeding tickets, but I needed to obtain accurate data to support that hypothesis.
I designed my survey on the basis of distributing simple questionnaires that posed the question: “Have you gotten a speeding ticket before?”
In total I distributed 60 questionnaires and each one was answered and handed back.
2. Summary of Results
My initial findings, deduced from a casual examination of the returned questionnaires, were that more of those surveyed who responded with a “yes” answer were females. I later refined that early opinion by analyzing the returned questionnaires as below. I first listed all the numbers (total questionnaires, total females, total males, totals of “yes” and “no” responses for each sex). From those numbers I was able to calculate percentages. Thus:
Total number of questionnaires distributed: 60
Total number of questionnaires responded/returned: 60 = 100%
Total number of responses by females: 42
Percentage of “yes” female responses: 27/42 x 100 = 64.29%
Total number of responses by males: 18
Percentage of “yes” male responses: 8/18 x 100 = 44.44%
Total number of “yes” responses (both sexes): 35
Total number of “no” responses (both sexes): 25
Percentage of “yes” responses (both sexes): 35/60 x 100 = 58.33%.
Thus, summarizing the results as detailed above, of the 60 questionnaires returned, 58.33% (or almost 6 out of 10) admitted to having previously received a speeding ticket. Of the 60 questionnaires returned 42 (70%) were completed by females. Of those, 27 (64.29%) answered “yes” to the question, compared with 8 (44.44%) of the male respondents.
Thus it would seem that my hypothesis was borne out by actual statistics obtained from the survey. My only concern regarding the validity of the results is that because the total number of people surveyed was relatively small (60) and that the proportion of males surveyed was significantly less than the number of females (18 males represents just 30% of the total), there is room for a degree of doubt regarding the reliability of the data obtained.
3. Visual Representation of the Results
The following bar graphs provide visual representations of the survey results as described in detail above:
Bar Graph 1
Speeding Tickets Survey – Questionnaire Numbers
Bar Graph 2
Speeding Tickets Survey – Percentages
Bar Graph 1 shows the total numbers of all questionnaires and the breakdowns of the male/female subtotals, then the separate breakdowns of the “yes” and the “no” responses for both sexes. Bar Graph 2 essentially shows the same data but represented in percentages.
4. Conclusions
The evaluation of the results of this survey has been implemented using a scientific process method; i.e. following a logical or rational order of steps to test a hypothesis by observations and then by analyzing the results. The general principles are explained in various reference sources including the Science Made Simple website. Working this way helps researchers and/or scientists work logically and to be organized, to give greater confidence in results obtained or theories proven.
The scientific process method can be applied to resolve issues in many areas of everyday life. For example, if I were considering the purchase of a new compact car, I could build a database that includes all the important data from the different makes and models under consideration, then analyze that data to highlight the best buy for me having prioritized the most important parameters.
As mentioned earlier, my primary reservation about the validity of the results of this speeding tickets survey is the relatively small total number of questionnaires used to derive a result that supported my hypothesis. The greater the number of questionnaires, the more reliable the result. For example, with the 60 used, only a small number of male “no” responses being “yes” instead, would have made a significant difference to the outcome.
References
Understanding and Using the Scientific Method. (24 April 2012). Retrieved from http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/scientific_method.html
