SOC 390 SPSS Assignment Central Tendency

Question 1

1 / 1 pts

The “age” variable measures participants' age in years. Use SPSS to calculate the mean age of the sample. The mean age of students in this data set is _________ years.

Enter your answer rounded to two decimal places (i.e., 10.11, not 10, not 10.1, not 10.110).

Question 2

1 / 1 pts

The variable “JobWant” measures what people look for in a job. Participants were asked to select ONE from the following answer options: high income; no danger of being fired; working hours are short with lots of free time; chances for advancement; work that is important and gives a feeling of accomplishment). These options were then given a numerical value of 1 through 5 and were entered in to SPSS. Based on this description of the “JobWant” variable, the best measure of central tendency for this variable is the ________ .

Frequency

Median

Mode

Mean

Question 3

1 / 1 pts

Based on your answer to the question above, the numerical value that is the best measure of central tendency for the “jobwant” variable is ______ .

Enter your answer as a whole number with no decimal values (i.e., 10, not 10.11, not 10.1, not 10.110).

Question 4

1 / 1 pts

The variable “tv” measures how many hours participants watch television in a typical week. What is the median number of hours participants watch television?

Enter your answer rounded to two decimal places (i.e., 10.11, not 10, not 10.1, not 10.110).

Question 5

1 / 1 pts

Compared to the median, the mean number of hours that participants watch television is ________ .

lower

negatively skewed

invalid

higher

Question 6

1 / 1 pts

Using the “gpa” variable, you determine that the average GPA in the sample is _________.

Enter your answer rounded to two decimal places (i.e., 10.11, not 10, not 10.1, not 10.110).

Question 7

1 / 1 pts

In this sample, it appears that reporting the mode of GPA may run the risk of ________ the most representative value of the variable.

underestimating

overestimating

Question 8

1 / 1 pts

The variable “WorkStatus” measures participants employment status. Participants were asked to select ONE from the following answer options: working full time, working part time, temporarily not working, unemployed or recently laid off, or retired. These options were then given a numerical value of 1 through 5 and were entered in to SPSS. Maria uses this data and calculates the mean of the “WorkStatus” variable. Which of the following is true?

The value that Maria calculates is the best measure of central tendency for this variable.

The value that Maria calculates will be slightly bias but still okay.

The value that Maria calculates will be equal to all other measures of central tendency for this variable.

This will result in an inaccurate measure of central tendency.

Question 9

1 / 1 pts

Given what you know about the “WorkStatus” variable, the best measure of central tendency is:

the median

the mean

the mode

the sum

Question 10

1 / 1 pts

Given what you know about the “WorkStatus” variable, you would report a value of _______ as the most appropriate measure of central tendency.

Enter your answer as a whole number with no decimal places (i.e., 10, not 10.1, not 10.11, not 10.110).

Quiz Score: 10 out of 10