SOC 301 Data Analysis, Fall 2003 Exam 1                    Name: ________________________________

1. Identify the level of measurement of the variables below:  2 points each                          


a. What is your health status:  Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor

b. How much money did you donate to a political campaign last year: 0 dollars, $1-$50, $51-$100, $101-$250,  $251-$500, more than $500

 

c. Do you think crime is a problem in your neighborhood?  Yes or No


d. Religion:  Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Islam, None


e. How many times did you skip class last semester _______
           

 

2. Identify the independent and dependent variables in the following hypotheses: 2 points each

a. Research shows that attendance determines grades.


b. Life satisfaction is strongly influenced by health status.

 

c. Women are more likely than men to think there is a crime problem in their neighborhood.

 

d. Attitudes about teen sex depend on a person’s religion.

e. Republicans tend to donate more money to political campaigns than do Democrats.


3.  What is a spurious relationship? Give an example not used in class or on a homework assignment.  Be sure to identify the spurious variable and why it is a spurious variable.  15 points



 

 

 

 

 

4.  I asked 12 of my friends how many times they went to church last month.  I obtained the following data:    0, 8, 1, 4, 1, 0, 2, 4, 0, 0, 1, 2  

 

Make a frequency table, including the frequency, percentage, valid percentage and cumulative percentage (10 points).  Calculate all appropriate univariate statistics (20 points).  Are their any outliers? (10 points)  If so, which ones are they? Which definition did you use? (Show math on all calculations.) 







 

5.  Below is a frequency table and univariate statistics from SPSS on the American’s opinions on space exploration spending.  This data is from the 2000 GSS.  Which univariate statistics are appropriate for this variable?  Write a sentence about the meaning of each appropriate statistic.   20 points


Do you think the U.S. spends too little money, too much money, or about the right amount of money on space exploration programs?

 

 

Frequency

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Valid

1  TOO LITTLE

195

6.9

15.0

15.0

 

2  ABOUT RIGHT

529

18.8

40.6

55.6

 

3  TOO MUCH

578

20.5

44.4

100.0

 

Total

1302

46.2

100.0

 

Missing

0  NAP

1408

50.0

 

 

 

8  DK

105

3.7

 

 

 

9  NA

2

.1

 

 

 

Total

1515

53.8

 

 

Total

2817

100.0

 

 

 


                                       Statistics

 

Mean

2.29

Median

2.00

Mode

3

Std. Deviation

.712

Range

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




True or False  2.5 points each (No incorrect answers – 5 free points)

 

6.       So far, I think I understand what we have covered in the data analysis course.  True      False

7.   This exam reflects information from our class lectures or homework assignments.         True      False