Question

The numbers of concealed weapons licenses issued for two neighboring counties are listed below for the years 2005–2011. Compare the data with the time series graph(s), and comment on the accompanying headline of the story, “Gun sales increase as crime rate decreases.”

Answer 1

Construct the time series plot for the number of concealed weapons licenses issued for two countries by using MINITAB as shown in figure below.

 

MINITAB procedure:

Step 1: Choose Graph > Time Series Plot.

Step 2: Choose Multiple, and then click OK.

Step 3: In Series, enter the column of Country 1, and Country 2.

Step 4: Choose Time/Scale, and then click Stamp.

Step 5: In Stamp columns, enter the column of Year.

Step 6: Click OK.

 

MINITAB output:

 

Observation:

From above figure, there is no way to infer that the crime rate is decreasing by looking at the graph for both the countries.