Deck 11: Data Preparation for Analysis

Question 1

Which of the following might indicate that a respondent lacked interest in a questionnaire?

A) Check marks are not within the boxes provided.
B) Scribbles on the questionnaire.
C) Spills on the questionnaire.
D) It's unlikely that these mistakes occur due to lack of interest.
E) All of the above examples may indicate a lack of respondent interest.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The process of editing involves:

A) categorizing the data.
B) counting the number of cases that fall into the various categories.
C) inspecting and correcting each questionnaire or observation form.
D) developing dummy tables that suggest how each item of information will be used before data is collected.
E) transforming the raw data into symbols.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A data-entry operator was having a bad day while inputting data from your research project. He occasionally entered "9" when meaning to enter "3". This is an example of a(n) _____.

A) gaffe
B) blunder
C) codebook error
D) outlier
E) nonresponse error

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following might NOT be an appropriate strategy for dealing with missing information on a questionnaire?

A) Throw out the entire questionnaire.
B) Overlook the missing information and code the remaining answers.
C) Substitute information based on the responses of similar respondents.
D) Both a and c only.
E) All of the above might be appropriate.

Question 5

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Questionnaires that omit complete sections should not automatically be thrown out.
B) A study in which all the returned questionnaires are completely filled out is common.
C) Questionnaires containing only isolated instances of item nonresponse should be retained.
D) Both a and c only.
E) a, b, and c.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a recommended coding convention?

A) Use as many columns as necessary for the field.
B) Locate only one character in each column.
C) Use alphabetic codes if possible.
D) Use consistent codes for similar types of responses.
E) Code in an identification number for each questionnaire.

Question 7

The location of each variable in the data array and the way in which it was coded is contained in a:

A) diary.
B) random file.
C) codebook.
D) focus group.
E) catalog.

Question 8

The most difficult questions to code are:

A) open-ended questions.
B) dichotomous questions.
C) questions using Stapel scales.
D) multichotomous questions.
E) questions using Likert scales.

Question 9

The main aim of editing is to:

A) ensure that the analysis is valid.
B) impose maximum quality standards on the raw data.
C) establish a balance between costs and accuracy.
D) establish codes for the raw data.
E) establish minimum quality standards for the raw data.

Question 10

Which of the following strategies for handling missing data makes maximum use of the data?

A) Substituting values for the missing data.
B) Reporting the number of blanks as a separate category.
C) Eliminating the case with the missing data in analyses using the variable(s) for which data is missing.
D) Eliminating questionnaires with missing data.
E) None of the above.

Question 11

Consider the following categories of ages. 18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55 and over
They are _____ and _____, but not _____.

A) closed-ended, exhaustive, mutually exhaustive
B) open-ended, mutually exclusive, exhaustive
C) closed-ended, mutually exclusive, exhaustive
D) exhaustive, mutually exclusive, open-ended
E) None of the above.

Question 12

In descriptive research, most of the items included in a questionnaire are likely to be _____.

A) precoded.
B) closed-ended.
C) open-ended.
D) exhaustive.
E) mutually exclusive.

Question 13

Which of the following statements is(are) true regarding coding?

A) The classes should always be mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
B) Multiple responses should never be coded.
C) Coding closed-ended questions is more difficult than coding open-ended questions.
D) Alphabetic codes should be assigned to the classes.
E) Both a and b are true statements.

Question 14

The BEST way to handle missing items when analyzing the data is to:

A) leave the item blank and report the number blank as a separate category.
B) eliminate the case with the missing item in analyses using the variable.
C) substitute values for the missing item.
D) eliminate the case from all further analyses.
E) There is no single best way for handling missing items.

Question 15

Which of the following is FALSE with respect to the coding of open-ended questions?

A) The use of several coders can lead to inconsistent treatment of answers.
B) Open-ended questions are generally more difficult to code than closed-ended questions.
C) The coder must determine categories on the basis of answers that are not always anticipated.
D) Coding open-ended questions is typically less expensive than coding closed-ended questions.
E) When the task requires multiple coders, each coder should be assigned parts of the questionnaire for all questionnaires rather than a subset of the questionnaires.

Question 16

Which of the following statements about the coding process is FALSE?

A) During the coding process, data are categorized.
B) Raw data are transformed into symbols during the coding process.
C) Coding involves judgment on the part of the coder.
D) The coding process occurs almost automatically.
E) All of the above statements about the coding process are true.

Question 17

A respondent indicated she redeemed a coupon at Walmart last week but later indicated that she had not visited a Walmart in over two weeks. This type of response poses a problem of _____.

A) completeness.
B) legibility.
C) comprehensibility.
D) consistency.
E) uniformity.

Question 18

When coding data for computer analysis, which of the following is NOT recommended?

A) Use only one symbol per column in the computer record.
B) Use alphabetic characters and special characters.
C) Assign as many columns to a variable as is necessary to capture the variable,e.g., two columns would need to be assigned to a question with 20 possible answers.
D) Use standard codes like "8" for all "No answers" and "9" for all "Don't know" throughout the study.
E) Leave data ungrouped.

Question 19

Which of the following questions do you think would be the easiest to code?

A) What are the three characteristics that you find most pleasing when using product X?
B) Have you ever used product X? _____ Yes _____ No
C) What religious denomination do you consider yourself?
D) Please specify the type of television set in your home?
E) How do you feel about commercials on children's TV shows?

Question 20

Which of the following is TRUE?

A) When preparing data for computer analysis, it is advisable to use alphabetic characters to code the data rather than numbers since alphabetic characters allow 26 codes per column while numbers only allow 10; thus, one can minimize the number of computer records per observation with alphabetic characters.
B) When preparing data for computer analysis, it is advisable to use as few records per observation as possible and thus the use of multiple entries per column is strongly recommended.
C) When a questionnaire requires more columns of code than will fit in a record, researchers should allow for a record sequence number along with a respondent identification number on each computer record.
D) A researcher is coding a variable that has ten possible answers. The researcher needs to provide two columns in the computer record when developing the codebook.
E) Data should be collapsed across groups when coding.

Question 21

The use of scanner technology to "read" responses on paper surveys and to store these responses in a data file is called ____________________.

Question 22

____________________ is the process of transforming raw data into symbols.

Question 23

Double entry of data, requires that the data be entered twice in the same data file to prevent discrepancies.

Question 24

____________________ is a source of nonsampling error that arises when a respondent agrees to an interview but refuses, or is unable, to answer specific questions.

Question 25

Compare and contrast the various methods or options for dealing with missing data in analyses.

Question 26

An error that arises during editing, coding, or data entry is called a(n) ____________________.

Question 27

Optical scanning uses scanner technology to "read" responses on paper surveys and then stores these responses in a data file.

Question 28

At a minimum, a codebook should include all of the following, EXCEPT _____.

A) the results of the study.
B) the variable name to be used in statistical analyses for each variable included in the data file.
C) the column(s) in which each variable is located in the data file.
D) a description of how each variable is coded.
E) an explanation of how missing data are treated in the data file.

Question 29

When entering codes from data collection forms into a computer data file, which of the following programs could be used?

A) Text data files in word processing
B) Spreadsheet software
C) Statistical software packages such as SPSS
D) Optical scanner
E) All of the above could be used.

Question 30

In a multiple-column record of a data file, _____ represent different variables and _____ represent different respondents.

A) codes, numbers
B) numbers, codes
C) rows, columns
D) columns, rows
E) codes, symbols

Question 31

A questionnaire uses a 1-5 Likert scale to determine job satisfaction. When entering the data into a file, a researcher types a 7 instead of the 4 that the respondent had circled on the questionnaire. Which of the following types of analysis can uncover this mistake?

A) Analysis of variance
B) Regression
C) Double-entry
D) Frequency analysis
E) Both c and D

Question 32

Treatment of missing data depends mainly on the _____.

A) purpose of the study.
B) incidence of the missing items.
C) methods that will be used to analyze the data.
D) Both a and B
E) a, b, and c.

Question 33

Blunders are errors that occur during editing, coding or especially data entry.

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a step in coding open-ended responses?

A) Identify separate responses given by each individual.
B) Specify categories into which the responses can be placed.
C) Place each response into as many categories as possible.
D) Assess the degree of agreement between multiple coders.
E) All of the above are steps in the process of coding open-ended responses.

Question 35

Which of the following statements about open-ended questions is FALSE?

A) Precoding is not necessary.
B) Response categories are provided for responses.
C) There are multiple legitimate responses.
D) When categorizing open-ended responses, it is often necessary to include an "other" category.
E) All of the above statements about open-ended questions are true.