Deck 14: Quantitative Data Analysis

Question 1

Certain guidelines should be kept in mind when coding.Among these is(are)the following:

A)the coding scheme should be appropriate to the analysis intended in the study.
B)the coding scheme should be appropriate to the theoretical concepts being examined.
C)the reliability of the coder(s)should always be verified.
D)code categories should be both mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
E)all of these choices are correct.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The College of Arts and Science at Delta University has nine departments.The number of faculty in each department is shown below.What is the median number of faculty in the College of Arts and Science? 8,12,9,15,17,11,13,14,7

A)12
B)17
C)4.5
D)5
E)there is no median in these data

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Given a mean of 12 and a standard deviation of 2,we can conclude:

A)95 percent of cases are between 10 and 14.
B)68 percent of cases are between 10 and 14.
C)all of our data is between 10 and 14.
D)not enough information to make any conclusions.
E)95 percent of cases are between 11 and 13.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The College of Arts and Science at Delta University has nine departments.The number of faculty in each department is shown below.What is the mean number of faculty in the College of Arts and Science? 8,12,9,15,17,11,13,14,7

A)12
B)17
C)10.7
D)11.8
E)There is no mean for these data

Question 5

In reading a table that someone else has constructed,the rule of thumb is:

A)if the table is percentaged down,read across,and if the table is percentaged across,read down.
B)if the table is percentaged down,read down.
C)if the table is percentaged across,read across.
D)if the table is percentaged down,read down and if the table is percentaged across,read across.
E)all of these choices are good rules of thumb for reading a table that someone else constructed.

Question 6

A codebook contains the following information: COLUMNS DESCRIPTION
1-3 I.D.# (assign each respondent a unique 3-digit ID# from 001 to 851 Sex
4 1=Male
2=Female Class Standing 1=freshman 2=sophomore 3=junior
5 4=senior
5=transfer 7=don't know 8=no answer 9=refused
Which of the following statements is(are)TRUE concerning the codebook?

A)The variables in this codebook are ID number,sex,and class standing.
B)ID number has been coded so that the categories are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive.
C)Class standing has been coded so that the categories are mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
D)The codebook contains two variables.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 7

A codebook contains the following information: COLUMNS DESCRIPTION 1-4 Case Number (a random identification number between 0001 and 9999)Sex
4 1=Male
2=Female
Metropolitan Area of Residence 1=New York
2=Boston 3=Baltimore/Washington DC
5 4=Atlanta
5=Orlando
6=Tampa 7=Miami 8=Unknown 9=Missing
Following this codebook,an individual assigned the number 283921

A)the 2839^th participant that is female residing in New York
B)the 2839^th participant that is male residing in Boston
C)a female participant residing in Boston assigned the ID number 2839
D)a male participant residing in New York
E)a female participant residing in New York

Question 8

An example of multivariate analysis would be:

A)an examination of the ages of all women who are corporate executives.
B)an analysis of the relationship between age,sex,and type of nightspot frequented in a given city in the Midwest.
C)an analysis of the relationship that exists between types of undergraduate major and positions held in business.
D)an analysis of the relationship between type of offense and length of prison sentence for those who had a jury trial.
E)all of these choices illustrate multivariate analyses.

Question 9

Which of the following statistics can be calculated on continuous data?

A)Mean
B)Median
C)Standard deviation
D)The mean,the median,and the standard deviation
E)The mean and the standard deviation

Question 10

Construction of explanatory bivariate tables involves:

A)dividing cases into the appropriate subgroups,describing each subgroup in terms of a given variable,and comparing those descriptions across subgroups.
B)dividing,describing,and comparing subgroups on independent and dependent variables.
C)analyzing the simultaneous relationships among several variables among subgroups.
D)dividing,describing and comparing univariate independent variables on subgroups.
E)all of these choices reflect how subgroup comparisons are done.

Question 11

A friend of yours assigned a code of 1 to "male" and a code of 2 to "female" on the variable sex.Your friend asked the computer to compute the average score on sex.The computer printout contained the following information: mean=1.38,standard deviation=.43,median=1.4,and mode=1.0.You advise your friend that the best measure(s)of central tendency is(are).

A)mean
B)standard deviation
C)median
D)mode
E)the mean,the median,and the mode are equally appropriate

Question 12

Professor Wilton decided to test whether blondes have more fun.Wilton surveyed 600 people and obtained the following results: HAIR COLOR
The BEST way(s)to percentage this table is(are):

A)within columns,down.
B)within rows,across.
C)divide each cell by 600.
D)within columns,across.
E)within rows,down.

Question 13

Looking at your data and frequency distribution,you find that a variable labeled LEVEL has only whole number values between 1 and 5.You can conclude that the variable is a(n):

A)continuous variable.
B)interval variable.
C)ratio variable.
D)discrete variable.
E)dichotomous variable.

Question 14

Marco wants to conduct a research study to determine if students living on campus feel more or less safe than those who live off campus.At the most basic level,he should use _.

A)univariate analysis
B)bivariate analysis
C)multivariate analysis
D)standard deviation
E)qualitative analysis

Question 15

The end product of the coding process in quantitative analysis refers to:

A)the conversion of data items into numerical codes.
B)the conversion of an attribute to a variable.
C)the assignment of a number or numeral to each questionnaire item.
D)the transfer of variables to the computer.
E)the assignment of a variable to a computer column.

Question 16

Which of the following is(are)aimed primarily at explanation?

A)Univariate analysis
B)Multivariate analysis
C)Bivariate analysis
D)Univariate,multivariate,and bivariate analyses all are primarily aimed at explanation
E)Only multivariate and bivariate analyses are aimed at explanation

Question 17

When summarizing heavily skewed data,the best measure of central tendency is:

A)median.
B)mean.
C)mode.
D)standard deviation.
E)correlation.

Question 18

The most frequently occurring attribute,in either grouped or ungrouped data,is the .

A)mean
B)median
C)mode
D)range
E)marginal

Question 19

A measure of dispersion describes:

A)the clustered data.
B)the data that is most important.
C)the distribution of values around some central value.
D)the appropriate data for analysis.
E)the discrete data only.

Question 20

A friend showed you the following table: Total Arrests in Orlando in 2005 by Type of Crime and Sex
SEX
What guideline in table construction does this table violate?

A)Tables should have a succinct heading.
B)The attributes of each variable should be clearly indicated.
C)The base for percentages should be included in the table.
D)The number of missing cases should be indicated in the table.
E)None of these guidelines are violated in the table.

Question 21

Coding should always begin with a relatively well-developed coding scheme derived from your research purpose.

Question 22

A nominal variable is a discrete variable.

Question 23

A description of the number of times that the various attributes of a variable are observed in a sample is called a .

A)frequency distribution
B)mean
C)measure of dispersion
D)contingency table
E)multivariable table

Question 24

When coding and analyzing data,you always want to have your numbers as specific as possible.

Question 25

Quantitative data coding is always a simple and straightforward process.

Question 26

You are helping code one of your professors' data.You are coding occupation and notice that there is no code for a respondent's indicated occupation.Which of the following statements would be correct in relating the problem to the professor?

A)The coding scheme for occupation is not mutually exclusive.
B)The lack of a code for this particular occupation signals a mismatch between the data and the coding scheme.
C)The coding scheme for occupation is exhaustive.
D)The coding scheme is not a good scheme.
E)All of these choices would be correct statements.

Question 27

Whereas univariate analysis and subgroup comparisons focus on the descriptions of the people under study,the focus of most of the bivariate analysis is on the relationships among the variables themselves.

Question 28

In a perfect normal distribution:

A)the mean is zero.
B)the mode is exactly half of the mean.
C)the mean,median,and mode are all equal.
D)the median is always 1.
E)the mode is twice the mean.

Question 29

Contingency tables can be used to present and describe:

A)bivariate and multivariate relationships.
B)univariate,bivariate,and multivariate relationships.
C)bivariate and multivariate relationships,but only using discrete data.
D)univariate relationships only.
E)multivariate relationships of only three or more variables.

Question 30

Always include the number of cases omitted from a bivariate analysis because of missing data in the table.

Question 31

Which of the following measures of central tendency can be used for any level of measurement?

A)Mean
B)Mode
C)Median
D)Standard deviation
E)The mean,the mode,and the median

Question 32

Which of the following statements about data entry is FALSE?

A)There are many ways to enter data on the computer.
B)Optical scan sheets can be fed into machines that convert the marks into data.
C)Data entry can sometimes occur in the process of data collection.
D)Data entry specialists can enter data from a questionnaire into a data matrix or spreadsheet.
E)All of these choices are TRUE.

Question 33

In multivariate analysis a second dependent variable is added.

Question 34

Given the following age distribution,the range is .12,15,8,17,34,43,2,16,43,3

A)12 to 3
B)17 to 43
C)2 to 17
D)2 to 43
E)cannot compute from the information given

Question 35

The mean is a particularly useful statistic when there is great disparity in a distribution.

Question 36

A codebook is a guide for locating variables and interpreting codes in one's data file.

Question 37

A bivariate table is read by comparing the independent variable subgroups with one another in terms of a given attribute of the dependent variable.

Question 38

Given the following age distribution,the mean is .18,33,7,32,6,5,4

A)4
B)7
C)15
D)32
E)cannot compute from the information given

Question 39

A univariate analysis examines the distribution of cases on one or more variables.

Question 40

Quantitative research with a single researcher need not construct a codebook.

Question 41

What is a codebook? Construct a codebook for the following questionnaire items.
a.Sex
(1)Male
(2)Female
b.Age at last birthday?
c.How many brothers and sisters do you have? (Count only those who are now alive.Include stepbrothers and stepsisters and children adopted by your parents. )
d.What is your current marital status?
(1)Married
(2)Widowed
(3)Divorced
(4)Separated
(5)Never married

Question 42

Explain the measures of univariate variable description that we have.What do these measures tell us? Why are they useful?

Question 43

Bivariate and multivariate analyses are aimed primarily at explanation.

Question 44

When analyzing quantitative data,you can increase the detail of a variable collected at a more general level via coding.

Question 45

Bivariate and multivariate analyses use dependent variables to explain independent variables.

Question 46

The "don't know" category should always be excluded from analysis.

Question 47

A random sample of sociology majors at the University of Methods were asked a series of questions about their major advisor.Interpret their answers to the following question: "My advisor encourages me to see him/her."

Question 48

Frequency distributions indicate the number of times that variables are observed.

Question 49

Ultimately,there is only one way to properly code a variable.

Question 50

A researcher believes that a person's occupation affects his or her political party preference.Given the following data on occupation and political party preference,construct a contingency table.Percentage the table and interpret your results.
Semiskilled Republican
Unskilled Republican
Semiskilled Democrat
Skilled Other
Semiskilled Other
Unskilled Other
Semiskilled Democrat
Semiskilled Democrat
Unskilled Other
Skilled Republican
Unskilled Other
Skilled Democrat
Skilled Other
Skilled Republican
Semiskilled Democrat
Skilled Other
Skilled Other
Unskilled Republican
Semiskilled Democrat
Skilled Other