Question

From the SAS data set myclass.fueldata, create - a horizontal bar chart showing the average highway MPG for each class; - a vertical bar chart showing the average highway MPG for different fuel types; - a histogram showing the distribution of highway MPG for each class; Add a title to each chart and label axes properly. 

Answer 1

During the recent campaign for mayor, a clear majority of city readers who responded to our survey indicated a desire for more news about city government. To increase circulation, and thus our profits, we should therefore consistently devote a greater proportion of space in all editions of The Clarion to coverage of local news.”

Discuss how well reasoned you find this argument. In your discussion be sure to analyse the line of reasoning and the use of evidence in the argument. For example, you may need to consider what questionable assumptions underlie the thinking and what alternative explanations or counterexamples might weaken the conclusion. You can also discuss what sort of evidence would strengthen or refute the argument, what changes in the argument would make it more logically sound, and what, if anything, would help you better evaluation its conclusion.
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On the surface the argument is defensible – a greater desire for a certain type of news would likely lead to the assumption that more of that news would lead to greater circulation. However, there are a number of flaws in the argument, and this essay will examine three: the quality of the poll; the inaccurate conclusion; and the failure to derive an appropriate and accurate solution. It will conclude with a recommendation for better analysis.

Firstly, the poll is highly limited in its scope, in particular its timeframe. It is extremely likely that during an election interest in local politics is going to be higher, and therefore it is dangerous to assume that this interest is going to persist forever (the article refers to “consistently” altering its content). It is also dependent on those who have responded, and it is likely that these individuals are particularly moved or motivated to do so; those people who did not respond may be a higher percentage of readership, and may not have responded due to their satisfaction with the current output of the paper – circulation levels and readership rates provide more accurate assessments, but take longer to a