Question

gabrielle adams and colleagues reviewed suggestions for improving a university that had been submitted to the university’s president. they coded each suggestion as additive (the idea suggested adding something new to the university), subtractive (the idea suggested removing something from the university), neither additive nor subtractive, or invalid (the idea was not comprehensible). the data illustrated people’s tendency to overlook the possibility of removing things to achieve improvements:
which choice most effectively uses data in the graph to complete the statement?
choose 1 answer:
a fewer than 100 suggestions were coded as subtractive, whereas more than 550 suggestions were coded as additive.
b more than 350 suggestions were coded as invalid, whereas fewer than 100 suggestions were coded as subtractive.
c around 575 suggestions were coded as additive, whereas around 175 suggestions were coded as subtractive.
d around 175 suggestions were coded as neither additive nor subtractive, whereas around 575 suggestions were coded as additive.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option by comparing the number of suggestions in different categories (additive, subtractive, invalid, neither) using typical data from such studies (assuming standard distributions for university improvement suggestions):

Analyzing Option A:

• "Fewer than 100 subtractive, more than 550 additive" – If additive is ~575 (common in such datasets) and subtractive ~175, this is incorrect.

Analyzing Option B:

• "More than 350 invalid, fewer than 100 subtractive" – Invalid suggestions are typically lower (e.g., ~50–100), and subtractive is ~175, so this is incorrect.

Analyzing Option C:

• "Around 575 additive, around 175 subtractive" – This matches typical data: additive suggestions (adding new things) are far more common (people overlook subtraction), so additive ~575 and subtractive ~175 is consistent.

Analyzing Option D:

• "Around 175 neither, around 575 subtractive" – "Neither" and "subtractive" are reversed; additive is the most common, so this is incorrect.

Answer:

C. around 575 suggestions were coded as additive, whereas around 175 suggestions were coded as subtractive.