Deck 4: Frequency Distributions

Question 1

The term frequency can refer to:

A)The number of cases in a particular category of a particular variable.
B)The percentage of cases in a particular category of a particular variable.
C)Both the number and percentage of cases in a particular category of a particular variable.
D)None of these.

Answer 1

Both the number and percentage of cases in a particular category of a particular variable.

Question 2

Which of the following statements is true about combining categories in a grouped frequency distribution?

A)Always create groupings that have fairly even numbers of cases per category.
B)It is usually preferable to create groupings with uneven numbers of cases per category.
C)It doesn't matter how categories are combined; all that matters is that the number of categories is reduced.
D)The best way to combine categories will vary, depending on the meaning and practical implications of a particular variable and the way the data are distributed for that variable.

Answer 2

The best way to combine categories will vary, depending on the meaning and practical implications of a particular variable and the way the data are distributed for that variable.

Question 3

To construct an absolute frequency distribution, you'll need columns that show proportions and percentages for each category of the variable.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Displays that show how the absolute and relative frequencies of cases per category add up as we go from one category to the next are called:

A)Absolute frequency distributions.
B)Relative frequency distributions.
C)Cumulative frequency distributions.
D)Grouped frequency distributions.

Question 5

To simplify a frequency distribution for a variable that contains a large number of categories, it is often helpful to create:

A)An absolute frequency distribution.
B)A relative frequency distribution.
C)A cumulative frequency distribution.
D)A grouped frequency distribution.

Question 6

To calculate the proportion of cases for a category of a variable, we simply divide the number of cases in that category by the total number of cases that have provided data for that variable.

Question 7

Displays of the proportions or percentages of cases per category are called:

A)Absolute frequency distributions.
B)Relative frequency distributions.
C)Cumulative frequency distributions.
D)Grouped frequency distributions.

Question 8

Displays of simple counts of the number of cases per category are called:

A)Absolute frequency distributions.
B)Relative frequency distributions.
C)Cumulative frequency distributions.
D)Grouped frequency distributions.

Question 9

The best way to facilitate and simplify the interpretation of data collected in a large survey is to:

A)Display the spreadsheet of raw data.
B)Write a narrative detailing the number of cases for each attribute of each variable.
C)Present a frequency distribution.
D)All of these.

Question 10

To construct a frequency distribution for a variable at the ordinal level of measurement, we arrange the rows for the quantitative values of the variable in ascending order.

Question 11

A cumulative frequency distribution will:

A)Display the absolute and relative frequencies of cases per category and add up going from one category to the next.
B)Display simple counts of the number of cases per category.
C)Display only the proportion of cases per category
D)Display the spreadsheet of raw data.

Question 12

An absolute frequency distribution will:

A)Display the absolute and relative frequencies of cases per category and add up going from one category to the next.
B)Display simple counts of the number of cases per category.
C)Display only the proportion of cases per category
D)Display the spreadsheet of raw data.

Question 13

Frequency distributions transform a mass of unmanageable details of data into manageable summaries.

Question 14

When constructing grouped frequency distributions, always create categories with the same number of cases per category.

Question 15

Grouped frequency distributions combine some or all of the categories of a variable into a smaller number of categories.

Question 16

The sums of absolute or relative frequencies are called cumulative frequencies.

Question 17

At the end of one year, the board of a small mental health agency in an urban area urges its staff to modify its services and improve its outreach efforts so as to increase the number of ethnic minorities who utilize its services.At the end of the next year, the agency's executive director informs the board in her annual report that the agency's proportion of ethnic minority clientele increased by 50 percent -- from 2 out of 50 (4%) to 3 out of 50 (6%).The board members should:

A)Be very pleasantly impressed with this large percentage increase.
B)Congratulate the staff for a successful outreach effort.
C)Recognize that percentages can be misleading when they are based on a relatively small number of cases.
D)Both be impressed and congratulate the staff.

Question 18

Describing the number of cases in each category of each variable in narrative form prevents readers from getting overwhelmed by tables of statistics.

Question 19

Suppose you want to display data from a large survey for a variable with many different scores that range from zero to 100.Which of the following would best facilitate and simplify the interpretation of the data?

A)Display the spreadsheet of raw data.
B)Present an absolute frequency distribution.
C)Present an ungrouped relative frequency distribution.
D)Present a grouped frequency distribution.

Question 20

Cross-tabulation tables:

A)Show the relationship between two or more variables.
B)Always have only two rows and two columns.
C)Always have more than two rows and two columns.
D)Always display frequencies, only, and NOT percentages.

Question 21

Increases or decreases in percentages are never misleading, regardless of whether they are based on a relatively small or large number of cases.