726 CHAPTER 15 Holistic Statistics FIGURE 15-1 Histogram and Boxplot of Body Temperatures 1 °F2 FIGURE 15-2 Normal Quantile Plot of Body Temperatures 1 °F2 Let’s consider the common belief that us humans have a body temperature of 98.6°F. Data Set 5 “Body Temperatures” includes body temperatures collected as part of a study reported in the article “A Critical Appraisal of 98.6 Degrees F, the Upper Limit of the Normal Body Temperature, and Other Legacies of Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich,” by Mackowiak, Wasserman, and Levine, Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume 268, Number 12. Data Set 5 “Body Temperatures” includes four columns of body temperatures, but for the purposes of this analysis, we will use only the values included in the last column, which are body temperatures collected at 12 AM on the second day (Day 2) of the study. Prepare Context The data represent body temperatures 1°F2 measured from subjects who participated in the study. The subjects were healthy volunteers recruited for inpatient vaccine trials that were conducted at the Center for Vaccine Development, University of Maryland School of Medicine. Temperatures were measured during a two-day period preceding treatment with a vaccine. Source The source of the measured body temperatures is from the authors (Mackowiak, Wasserman, Levine) of the journal article cited above. The study was supported by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Army. The source of the data does not appear to be at all questionable. Sampling Method The subjects were recruited for a study of a vaccine. A substantial issue would have been hospitalized patients who were not healthy and may have abnormal body temperatures, but the recruited subjects were healthy. Also, the temperatures were measured by the researchers instead of being reported by the subjects. The sampling method appears to be sound. Analyze Graph the Data Shown below are a histogram and boxplot (Figure 15-1), and normal quantile plot (Figure 15-2) of the sample of body temperatures. The histogram and normal quantile plot suggest that the data are from a normally distributed population. Is the Body Temperature of 98.6°F a Myth?
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