3) enlightening us as to a difference in reporting frequency of men and women.
This. The survey says “Around 10% of both men and women did not answer the questions on
sexual partners.”. If women tended to embarrassed by having too many sexual partners, and men by having too few, this would explain the difference.
For the math to work out, the 10% of women who did not respond would have to have 45 partners, on average. I’m skeptical.
Math: The reported average among men is 9, thus the actual average is at least .9(9) + .1(0) = 8.1. If the missing tenth of women have an average of x partners, the actual overall average is .9(4) + .1(x) = 3.6 + x/10. Setting these equal, we get 8.1 = 3.6 + x/10, which yields x = 45.
This. The survey says “Around 10% of both men and women did not answer the questions on sexual partners.”. If women tended to embarrassed by having too many sexual partners, and men by having too few, this would explain the difference.
For the math to work out, the 10% of women who did not respond would have to have 45 partners, on average. I’m skeptical.
Math: The reported average among men is 9, thus the actual average is at least .9(9) + .1(0) = 8.1. If the missing tenth of women have an average of x partners, the actual overall average is .9(4) + .1(x) = 3.6 + x/10. Setting these equal, we get 8.1 = 3.6 + x/10, which yields x = 45.
This creates an ethical dilemma for the scientists performing the study!