The major shopping areas in the community of Springdale include Springdale Mall, West Mall, and the downtown area on Main Street. A telephone survey has been conducted to identify strengths and weaknesses of these areas and to find out how they fit into the shopping activities of local residents. The 150 respondents were also asked to provide information about themselves and their shopping habits. The data are provided in the computer file SHOPPING. The variables in the survey were as follows:
The data from these 150 respondents will be the basis for further analyses later in the text. In applying some of the techniques from this chapter, the following questions could provide insights into the perceptions and behavior of Springdale residents regarding the three shopping areas.
1. Using the data file SHOPPING, construct three different frequency distributions, one each for variables 7, 8, and 9. How do the three areas compare in terms of residents’ general attitudes toward each?
2. Do people tend to spend differently at the three areas? Construct and compare frequency distributions for variables 4, 5, and 6.
3. To find out more about specific strengths and weaknesses of the areas, set up a frequency distribution for variable 10 (i.e., how many “best-fits” votes did each area get for “easy to return/exchange goods”?). Repeat this for variables 11–17 and interpret the results. Which of the malls seems to be the “bargain mall”? Which area seems to have the most convenient shopping hours?
4. Generate a cross-tabulation in which the categorization variables are variable 26 (gender) and variable 28 (marital status). For each of the four subcategories in the cross-tabulation, have your statistical software include the average for variable 30 (respondent age). Interpret the results.