Assessment 1 – Basics of Research and Statistics, Frequency Distr

Assessment 1 – Basics of Research and Statistics, Frequency Distributions, Percentiles, and Graphical Representations Complete the following problems within this Word document. Do not submit other files. Show your work for problem sets that require calculations. Ensure that your answer to each problem is clearly visible. You may want to highlight your answer or use a different type color to set it apart. Problem Set 1.1: Identifying Variables (Dependent, Independent, Quasi-Independent) Criterion: Identify dependent and independent variables. Instructions: For the following list of examples, identify the dependent variable and independent (or quasi-independent) variable.  1. A researcher tests whether cocaine use increases impulsive behavior in a sample of cocaine-dependent and cocaine-inexperienced mice.  Independent Variable: ________  Quasi-Independent Variable: ________ Dependent Variable: ________ 2. A professor tests whether students perform better on a multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank test format.  Independent Variable: ________  Quasi-Independent Variable: ________ Dependent Variable: ________ 3. A researcher tests whether smoking by parents influences children’s attitudes toward smoking behavior.  Independent Variable: ________  Quasi-Independent Variable: ________ Dependent Variable: ________ 4. A social scientist tests whether attitudes toward morality differ based on political affiliation (Democrat or Republican). Independent Variable: ________  Quasi-Independent Variable: ________ Dependent Variable: ________ 5. A cultural researcher tests whether individuals from different cultures share or differ in the belief that dreams have meaning. Independent Variable: ________  Quasi-Independent Variable: ________ Dependent Variable: ________ Problem Set 1.2: Understanding Sample and Population Criterion: Describe the relationship between population and sample.  Instructions: Read the following and answer the question.  Height and educational attainment: Szklarska, Koziel, Bielicki, and Malina (2007) hypothesized that taller young men are more likely to move up the scale of educational attainment compared with shorter individuals from the same social background. They recruited 91,373 nineteen-year-old men to participate in the study.  Do these participants most likely represent a sample or population? Explain. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Problem Set 1.3: SPSS Enter Data Criterion: Enter and display data in SPSS. Instructions: Use the supplied data to complete Steps 1–8. Data: Five social media users spent the following number of minutes viewing Twitter:  15.21, 46.18, 12.45, 65.486, 26.852. Steps: 1. Open SPSS. 2. Click New DataSet in the New Files area and then click Open. 3. Click the Variable View tab at the bottom. 4. In the cell under Name, type Minutes. 5. The variable of Minutes is continuous. In the Decimals column, type 2. 6. Click on the Data View tab at the bottom of the screen. 7. Enter data in the column labeled Minutes. 8. Take a screenshot of your data in SPSS and paste it below. Problem Set 1.4.a: Grouped or Ungrouped Criterion: Explain the identification of types of data.  Instruction: Fill in the table below. For each example, state whether it is grouped or ungrouped and why.       Example Grouped or Ungrouped Why   The time (in seconds) it takes 100   children to complete a cognitive skills game.   The number of single mothers with 1,   2, 3, or 4 children.   The number of teenagers who have   experimented with smoking (yes, no).   The age (in years) of freshman   students in a local college. Problem Set 1.4.b: Understanding Descriptive and Interferential Statistics Criterion: Explain the identification of types of data.  Instructions: Read the following and answer the question.  Gun ownership in the United States: Data from Gallup polls over a 40-year period show how gun ownership in the United States has changed. The results are described in the table below, with the percentage of Americans who own guns given in each of 5 decades:     Year %   1972 43   1982 42   1992 48   2002 40   2012 43 Source: Reported at http://www.gallup.com/poll/1645/Guns.aspx  1. Are the percentages reported here an example of descriptive statistics or interferential statistics? _____________________________________________________________ 2. Based on the percentages given in the table, how has gun ownership in the United States changed over the past 40 years? ______________________________________________________________________ Problem Set 1.5: Reading a Chart Criterion: Locate data on a chart.  Instructions: Read the following and answer the questions.      Participant Characteristics Count   Type Token   Sex   Women Men Unknown 24,541 23,617 479 878,261 751,188 927   Total 1,630,376 Do men or      women in this sample speak more words overall (Token Count)?      _______________ Do men or      women in this sample speak more different words (Type Count)?      _______________ Problem Set 1.6: Frequencies and Percents Criterion: Identify frequencies and percents. Instructions: State whether a cumulative frequency, relative frequency, relative percent, cumulative relative frequency, or cumulative percent is most appropriate for describing the following situations. For cumulative distributions, indicate whether these should be summarized from the top down or from the bottom up. Data:  1. The frequency of businesses with at least 20 employees: ____________ 2. The frequency of college students with less than a 3.0 GPA: ____________ 3. The percentage of women completing 1, 2, 3, or 4 tasks simultaneously: ____________ 4. The proportion of pregnancies performed in public or private hospitals: ____________ 5. The percentage of alcoholics with more than 2 years of substance abuse: ____________ Problem Set 1.7: Understanding Percentages Criterion: Identify distribution type and number of people. Instructions: Read the following and answer the questions.  Perceptions of same-sex marriage: In June 2016, a CBS News poll asked a sample of adults worldwide whether it should be legal or not legal for same-sex couples to marry (reported at http://www.pollingreport.com). The opinions of adults worldwide were as follows: 58%, legal; 33%, not legal; and 9%, unsure/no answer. 1. What type of distribution is this? __________________________ 2. Knowing that 1,280 adults were polled nationwide, how many Americans polled felt that same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry? __________________________ Problem Set 1.8: Create an Ascending Frequency Table in SPSS Criterion: Create an ascending frequency table in SPSS. Instructions: Complete the following steps. Data: The number of clicks per hour in forty different tweets: 1, 0, 8, 5, 2, 1, 8, 2, 0, 2, 6, 8, 7, 2, 0, 2, 7, 4, 6, 9, 3, 2, 9, 6, 9, 7, 5, 8, 8, 8, 9, 6, 5, 4, 8, 4, 5, 8, 5, 7 1. Open SPSS. 2. Click New Dataset in the New Files area and then click Open. 3. Click on the Variable View tab. 4. In the cell under Name, type Clicks. 5. The variable of Clicks is discrete, so enter 0 in the Decimals column. 6. Click on the Data View tab at the bottom of the screen. 7. Enter all 40 numbers from from the dataset of number of clicks per hour in the column labeled Clicks. 8. In the Toolbar, click Analyze, select Descriptive Statistics, and then select Frequencies. 9. Select Clicks and then click Arrow to send it over to the right side of the table. 10. Click OK. Copy and paste the ascending values frequency table into the Word document. 11. Go back to Data View, click Analyze, select Descriptive Statistics, and then select Frequencies. Note: Your answers to this problem set should be two separate SPSS outputs. Save your Clicks data to use in the next two problems. Problem Set 1.9: Construct a Bar Graph in SPSS Criterion: Construct a bar graph in SPSS. Instructions: The Clicks data from Problem Set 1.10 is discrete. Complete the following steps to create a bar chart to examine the data: 1. Go back to your SPSS Statistics Data Editor where your Clicks data should be displayed. 2. In the Toolbar, click Graphs, select Legacy Dialogs, and then select Bar. 3. Click Simple, then select Define. Select Clicks and then click Arrow to send it over to the Category Axis box. 4. Click OK. Copy and paste the bar graph below. (Hint: You might need to use Copy Special and click the .jpeg option.) 5. Optional to answer: What is the shape of the distribution? Problem Set 1.10: Construct a Pie Chart in SPSS Criterion: Construct a pie chart in SPSS. Instructions: Complete the following steps to create a pie chart to examine the attendance data from Problem Set 1.10. 1. Go back to your SPSS Statistics Data Editor where your clicks data should be displayed. 2. Select Data View, click Graphs, select Legacy Dialogs, and then select Pie. 3. Click Summaries for groups of case and then select Define. Select Clicks and then click Arrow to send it over to the Define Slices By box.  4. Click OK. Copy and paste the pie graph below.