Northcentral University Data File 1/Statistics in Educational Research Date File 1 Chapter One 1) Determine whether the evaluated group is a population or a sample a) Based on a randomly selected group of 500 patients with high cholesterol, it was found that 67% have heart disease. Is this a population or a sample; explain your answer. b) An investigation of 150 randomly selected local restaurants concluded that 42% of local restaurants have serious health code violations. Is this a population or a sample; explain your answer. 2) Determine whether the given value is a statistic or a parameter. a) A researcher determines that 42.7% of all downtown office buildings have ventilation problems. Is this a statistic or a parameter; explain your answer. b) After taking the first exam, 15 of the students dropped the class. Is this a statistic or a parameter; explain your answer. 3) Identify the type of sampling used. a) A tax auditor selects every 1000th income tax return that is received. What type of sample is this and why? b) The name of each contestant is written on a separate card, and the cards are placed in a bag with three names being picked from the bag. What type of sample is this and why? 4) Is the study experimental or observation and why? a) A political pollster reports that his candidate has a 10% lead in the polls with 10% undecided. 5) Select the study that is most appropriate and EXPLAIN WHY it is most appropriate for the study. a) Is the aspirin produced by a particular pharmaceutical company better than that of a competitor at relieving headaches? Which of the following would best be used to study this: 1) a case-controlled observation; 2) an observation; 3) a doubleblind experimental procedure; and 4) and experimental procedure. From Chapter One 1) Focus on Public HealthOn page 44 of the text, it discusses the Harvard Nurses' Health Study, which is a very well-known study that has been conducted for a number of years. Answer discussion question two at the end of the article. Department Page 1 of 2 2011 Northcentral University 10000 E. University Dr, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314 USA www.ncu.edu p: 928-541-7777 f: 928-541-7817 djenny:02112011 Northcentral University Data File 1/Statistics in Educational Research Chapter Two 1) Identify the following variables as either qualitative or quantitative and EXPLAIN your answers. a. The number of people on a jury. b. The color of your house 2) Identify the number as either continuous or discrete and EXPLAIN your answers. a. The average height of all freshmen entering college in a certain year is 68.4 inches. b. The number of limbs on a 2-year-old oak tree is 21. 3) Determine which of the four levels of measurement is most appropriate and explain your answer. a. Temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit of the ocean at various depths. b. The rank of individuals in the military c. The number of people with blue, brown and red hair in a classroom 4) Determine the following (show your work): a. The speed of a new microprocessor is 800MHZ, but a new test of its speed gives a measurement of 820MHZ. What is the absolute error? What is the relative error? b. Convert 1/16 to a percent c. Convert 0.45 to a percent d. Humanities majors spend an average of $115 per course on books. Mathematics majors spend an average of $70 per course on books. What is the percent difference between the two amounts relative to the amount for mathematics majors (round to the nearest percent)? e. Suppose that the cost of a statistics text was $50 in 1985 and is $100 in 2000. What is the \"Statistics Text Index\" number, rounded to the nearest tenth, for the 2000 edition with the 1985 price as the reference value? From Chapter Two 2) Focus on EconomicsOn page 76 and 77, the article looks at an important issue to everyonethe economy. In particular it is focusing on whether our standard of living is improving. Answer discussion question one at the back of the article. Department Page 2 of 2 2011 Northcentral University 10000 E. University Dr, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314 USA www.ncu.edu p: 928-541-7777 f: 928-541-7817 djenny:02112011 Statistics is both a language and a math discipline that is used to convey abstract information in a concrete, understandable way. People often quote statistics in everyday conversation: baseball or test averages, polling results, the average rain or snowfall for particular months, a percentile ranking, and whether or not the results of medical or educational tests are reliable and valid. The pervasive nature of statistics impacts almost every area of our lives. This course is meant to give you a graduate-level understanding of statistics so that you can comfortably and critically analyze research in an informed manner as an NCU Learner, and in your life. Even the choice of the textbook for this course, Statistical Reasoning for Everyday Life (2007) lends support to this goal. This section explores why it is important to have a base level of knowledge in statistics as an academic scholar and involved citizen. Statistics is a language that helps us understand many forms of knowledge. Therefore a major goal of this course is not only to enhance one's computation proficiency, but to understand the conceptual nature of statistical data analysis. This section introduces you to important concepts that are central to statistics including sampling, units of measurement, observation versus experimentation, using percentages to convey information, and different forms of studies. Although this course is focused on helping the business graduate student to develop a working knowledge of the quantitative methodology found in business, this first section sets a tone of broad exploration for the rest of the course. Examples in the textbook and the data exercises make connections beyond this course into other areas of your life. Statistical Software Needed for this Course Although some of the statistical calculations in the early part of the course can be completed by hand or with a calculator, you should have access to at least one of the following software packages to use for statistical computations in many of the activities: IBM SPSS Statistics Standard GradPack v22 Microsoft Excel, which most students have as part of their basic computer software SPSS software for this course can be purchased from the following e-store: http://estore.onthehub.com/ (The SPSS software can be found under the 'Data Analysis' tab on the website.) It is likely that your instructor will have a more complete knowledge of how to use SPSS rather than Excel in solving statistical problems. After completing the readings and assignments in this section you should be able to do the following: Learning Outcomes: 1, 3 1. Explore and apply different levels of measurements, as well as understanding independent/dependent variables in research scenarios. 3. Calculate basic descriptive statistics and interpret their meaning in application. This assignment and those following in the course require that you carefully read the assigned chapters in the textbook and apply your new knowledge by answering questions and solving problems that correspond to the reading. For many of these application assignments, you will download a Word data file that contains all of the assigned questions and calculations, and save it to your computer. You can complete the questions and exercises in the Word document, and resubmit it with a new name, being sure to follow the established NCU naming conventions. Upon completion of the readings, you should have a basic understanding of what statistics is, how it assists in communicating important information, and how it can be used as an important tool in business and other areas of your life. By completion, you should gain proficiency in understanding and applying the following concepts and processes: Different levels of measurement Relative and absolute error Base rates Calculating percentages Setting up basic visual displays such as graphs and charts Application Questions and Problems Download Data File 1 and complete the problems and questions as presented. Show all work (which also means including any statistical program output that was used to answer a problem/question). Unless otherwise requested, please submit all assignments (with your answers along with the assignment questions/problems) in Word file format. Be sure to name the file using the proper NCU naming conventions before its submittal. Your submittal should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Where applicable your submittal should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Review APA Form and Style. Be sure to adhere to Northcentral University's Academic Integrity Policy. View the Northcentral Academic Integrity Tutorial to refresh your knowledge of how to achieve academic integrity. Upload your assignment using the Upload Assignment button below