Question

Torres-Porras supported his hypothesis that the tragedy of the commons is influencing populations of red deer. His results showed the predicted demographic differences between the fenced and unfenced populations of red deer. Recall that underlying his hypothesis is the assumption that hunter behavior differs between fenced and unfenced estates. Differences in hunting behavior would affect red deer population demographics. If Torres-Porras could show evidence that hunters do behave differently in fenced estates versus unfenced states, that would provide further support for his hypothesis that the tragedy of the commons is influencing the populations. Suppose that Torres-Porras decides to perform a second study where he will survey hunters to assess their behavior. He wrote 8 survey questions, but he wants you to select the 4 best questions. (The survey should be short so that hunters will be more likely to take it.) Select the 4 best questions to include in the survey. Be sure to avoid: Questions that are not strongly related to the predictions or hypothesis Questions that are complex or confusing Questions that directly ask participants about the hypothesis Questions with biased language Select the 4 best questions to include in the survey. Be sure to avoid: Questions that are not strongly related to the predictions or hypothesis Questions that are complex or confusing Questions that directly ask participants about the hypothesis Questions with biased language On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very unlikely and 10 is very likely, how likely are you to harvest a female deer when you encounter one? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very unlikely and 10 is very likely, how likely are you to harvest a male deer with short antlers when you encounter one? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is a little better and 10 is much better, how much better is it to harvest a male deer relative to a female deer? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very unlikely and 10 is very likely, how likely are you to harvest a male deer with long antlers when you encounter one? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very unlikely and 10 is very likely, how likely is it that the tragedy of the commons is occurring in unfenced estates? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very unlikely and 10 is very likely, how likely are you to harvest a male deer with long antlers and a young female deer? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very little control and 10 is a great deal of control, how much control do you feel you have over the population of deer where you hunt? On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very little and 10 is a great deal, how much do you like to hunt red deer?

Answer 1

Imagine that Torres-Porras conducted the survey with 100 hunters—50 from fenced estates and 50 from unfenced estates. Below are the average scores for each question.

Survey Question	Question Hunters in Fenced Estates	Hunters in Unfenced Estates
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very unlikely and 10 isvery likely, how likely are you to harvest a female deerwhen you encounter one?	6	5
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very unlikely and 10 isvery likely, how likely are you to harvest a male deer withshort antlers when you encounter one?	5	8
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very unlikely and 10 isvery likely, how likely are you to harvest a male deer withlong antlers when you encounter one?	9	9
On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very little control and 10 isa great deal of control, how much control do you feel you have over the population of deer where you hunt?	8	3