This recent story from msnbc.com reports that "nearly 60 percent of teens text while driving." From the story:
An anonymous national survey conducted last year found that 58 percent of high school seniors said they had texted or emailed while driving during the previous month. About 43 percent of high school juniors acknowledged they did the same thing.
Let's interrogate this claim.
a) What kind of claim is the headline making, and which big validities do we care about for a claim like this?
b) The msnbc story gives some detail about the original study's methodology. Does it give you enough detail to assess external validity? If not, what else do you need to know?
c) Does it give you enough detail to assess construct validity? What else might you need to know?
One part of the msnbc article mentions a teen who got into a minor accident while texting behind the wheel:
"I felt like an idiot," said her 18-year-old son, Dylan Young.
"It caused me to be a lot more cautious," said the high school senior, although he conceded that he still texts behind the wheel.
d) Is this story (about Dylan Young) an example of empirical evidence? Why do you think the journalist includes this story?
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