PSYC 354 HOMEWORK 1 | Complete Solution

HOMEWORK 1 (65 POINTS)
Introduction to Statistics

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Be sure you have reviewed this module/week’s lesson and presentations before proceeding to the homework exercises. Fill in the blanks within this homework document. Review the “Homework Instructions: General” document for an example of how homework assignments must look.
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    Part I: Concepts
All Questions
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These questions are based on the Nolan and Heinzen text as well as any presentations in the course content during the current module.    
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Fill in the blank with the appropriate word or words.

1.    A variable that has categorical values, such as “political party” or “shape,” is a ________ variable.

2.    A health psychologist gathers data from 50 people on the number of miles run in one week. This variable (number of miles run) is at the  ________ level of measurement.

3.    A farmer divides his sheep into 3 different groups: small, medium, and large. The resulting variable “animal size” is a variable at the ________ level of measurement.

4.    A scale-level variable typically includes which two other levels of measurement?  _______          and                        _

5.    A(n) ________ is a set of observations drawn from a larger group of interest.

6.    A statistic that uses sample data to make general estimates about the larger population is a(n) ________ statistic.

7.    A(n) ________ statistic is one which summarizes a group of numbers.

8.    The  ____________ includes all possible observations about which a researcher would like to know something.

9.    An observation that can take on a full range of values, with an infinite number of potential values, is a ______ observation.

10.    An association between two or more variables is known as a ________.

11.    A(n) ________ variable makes it impossible to determine whether the independent variable is the cause of changes in the dependent variable.

12.    A clinical psychologist develops a questionnaire to measure generalized anxiety in adolescents. However, after using the measure for 2 months and comparing it to other metrics, she realizes that the questionnaire is not in fact a good measure of anxiety. In this case, the questionnaire is not a ________ measure because it does not measure what it was intended to measure.  
 
13.    A patient with Traumatic Brain Injury takes the same neuropsychological test 4 times and receives the same results each time. The test is an example of a ___________ measure because it produces consistent results.

14.    Volunteers in an exercise study are divided into three groups (levels): running, swimming, and biking. Each participant only experiences the level to which they are assigned. This is an example of a(n)  ________-groups design.

15.    In another exercise study, participants experience all three exercise conditions over time. This is an example of a(n) ________-groups design.

16.    Briefly a) explain what a “level” is in relation to an independent variable, and b) give an example of an independent variable and its levels:
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Answer the following questions pertaining to research scenarios:
Question 17a-17c

A school psychologist wants to study the effect of different types of counseling on retention rates for at-risk students. She divides a sample of at-risk students into 2 groups, one that receives individual counseling and one that receives group counseling.

17-a)  What would the dependent variable be in this study?
Answer
17-b)  What would the independent variable be in this study?
Answer
17-c)  How many levels would the independent variable have?
Answer

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Question 18 (a-d)
An economist reported the results of a study in which 30 local recent college graduates were surveyed. One of the questions asked for the starting annual income of their first job. The jobs were generally in the human services and technology sectors. The median annual salary of the graduates was $46,721.15. Identify each of the following for this hypothetical study.
18-a) Sample    Answer
18-b) Population    Answer
18-c) Dependent variable    Answer
18-d) Descriptive statistic    Answer

Questions 19-22
Answer these general SPSS questions using the presentation and SPSS text as your source.
19) In the SPSS data editor, which “view” screen allows you to name and edit variables?    Answer
20) Which window displays the results of your analysis in SPSS?    Answer
21) In the Data View, each ___ represents one participant’s information.    Answer
22) In the Data View, each ____ represents a variable.    Answer

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Question 23a-23b
Suppose you have a data set in which the variable “Gender” is coded in the file as numbers (1 and 2). However, you want the words “male” and “female” to show up in the output when you run your test. This week’s SPSS tutorial presentation is especially helpful for this question.
23a)  If you want to define the level of measurement for the variable “Gender,” which column within Variable View allows you to do this?
Answer
23b)  Based on what you have learned so far, which level of measurement would be the correct choice for the variable “Gender” ? 
Answer

Submit Homework 1 by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 1. Remember to name file appropriately.