Deck 7: Frequency Distributions

Question 1

Frequency distributions normally meet the criteria for a good statistic.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

In a frequency distribution of a variable from a questionnaire, the term missing beside an arbitrary number is used to represent

A) possible answer items to a question where no one respondent selected that answer
B) numbers missing from a coded variable scale
C) those respondents who did not return the questionnaire
D) those respondents missing from a question or item

Answer 2

D

Question 3

One of the best ways to interpret a frequency distribution is to

A) determine where the extremes are
B) use the middle 90 percent of the data to find the majority
C) determine where the middle of the values might be
D) keep missing values in the percentages so that you discuss all of the cases

Answer 3

C

Question 4

One of the most useful columns for interpreting a frequency distribution is the one labeled

A) cumulative percent
B) percent
C) frequencies
D) quartiles

Question 5

If you have a frequency distribution for a variable (like age...) with many values, what can you do to create a frequency distribution that gives a better picture of the data?

A) group the data into no more than 15 classes
B) calculate a mean
C) add a column for the cumulative percent of cases
D) draw a graphic

Question 6

When interpreting a frequency distribution, you should use words, not numbers.

Question 7

Frequency distributions are a good way

A) to display bivariate information
B) to display continuous data in the form of a graphic
C) to interpret public opinion from survey questions
D) to interpret the error present in estimates of dispersion

Question 8

Grouped frequency distributions are commonly used with

A) cardinal numbers
B) nominal- and ordinal-level data
C) interval- and ratio-level data
D) numbers that are rounded off to the nearest decile

Question 9

If you have a substantial number of missing answers in a frequency distribution, you would prefer to use

A) a grouped frequency distribution
B) the percent column
C) the valid percent column
D) the non-missing column

Question 10

A frequency distribution would represent which of the types of statistics below?

A) descriptive
B) inferential
C) predictive
D) a and c above

Question 11

If there are fewer than 25 values, a variable should never be grouped for display in a frequency distribution.

Question 12

One of the reasons for using cumulative percentages with a frequency distribution is to be able to interpret groupings among the values.

Question 13

When the term "frequency" is used statistics, it means

A) the number of cases in a category or value
B) the length of a dispersion line
C) an array of 10 or more numbers
D) none of the above

Question 14

In grouped frequency distributions

A) make sure that all categories have no more than 5 original values
B) each case should fit into only one category
C) each case should be greater than the last one
D) all of the above

Question 15

When grouping data for a frequency distribution, you should

A) use at least 6 and not more 15 categories
B) use at least 10 and not more than 25 categories
C) divide the total number of values by 4 to create quartiles
D) use as many categories as is necessary to create a normal distribution

Question 16

Whenever there are missing cases, it is best to use valid percentages rather than total percentages.

Question 17

Eliminating extremes in a frequency distribution gives you a better picture of where "average" responses are.

Question 18

A grouped frequency distribution is one in which several frequency distributions are grouped together to display multiple variables.

Question 19

Continuous variables, like age, are best represented in frequency distributions.

Question 20

A frequency distribution is an example of a

A) univariate statistical technique
B) graphical statistic
C) dispersion technique that is useful for correcting problems with the standard deviation
D) multivariate statistical technique

Question 21

As a normal practice, the category intervals of grouped data should be of equal size.

Question 22

Rather than discussing the middle values in a frequency distribution, you should focus on the extreme values.