Assignment Detail

SPSS Political Analysis Assignment – Descriptive Statistics Exercises

1. (Data set: GSS. Variables: science_quiz, wtss.) The late Carl Sagan once lamented, “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.” This is a rather pessimistic assessment of the scientific acumen of ordinary Americans. Sagan seemed to be suggesting that the average level of scientific knowledge is quite low and that most people would fail even the simplest test of scientific facts.

The GSS dataset contains science_quiz, which was created from ten true-false questions testing respondents’ knowledge of basic scientific facts. Values on science_quiz range from o (the respondent did not answer any of the questions correctly) to 10 (the respondent correctly answered all ten).

A. Obtain a frequency distribution table of science_quiz. Fill in the table that follows. Be sure to weight observations with the wtss variable.

*Weight frequencies.

B. When you use the Analyze Descriptive Statistics Frequencies procedure, click the Statistics button and ask SPSS, to report the mean, median, and skewness of the science_quiz variable. The science_quiz variable has a mean equal to ______, a median equal to______, and a skewness equal to ______.

C. Create a bar chart for science_quiz by clicking the Charts button and requesting a bar chart. Print the bar chart. (Alternatively, you can create a histogram, but there is no need to group observations into binned values of science_quiz values.)

D. Exercise your judgment. What would be the more accurate measure of science_quiz’s central tendency: the mean or the median? (circle one)

mean

median

E. Briefly explain your choice in D.

F. According to conventional academic standards, any science_quiz score of 5 or lower would be an F, a failing grade. A score of 6 would be a grade of D, a 7 would be a C, an 8 a B, and scores of 9 or 10 would be an A. Based on these standards, about what percentage of people got passing grades on science_ quiz? (circle one)

• About 30 percent
• About 40 percent
• About 50 percent
• About 60 percent

What percentage got an A on science_quiz? (circle one)

• About 5 percent
• About 10 percent
• About 15 percent
• About 20 percent

2. (Dataset: World. Variables: women13, country.) What percentage of members of the U.S. House of Representatives are women? In 2013 the number was 17.8 percent, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an international organization of parliaments. How does the United States compare to other democratic countries? Is 17.8 percent comparatively low, comparatively high, or average for a typical national legislature?

A. The World dataset contains women13, the percentage of women in the lower house of the legislature in each of ninety democracies. Obtain summary statistics for the women13 variable. Fill in the table that follows.

B. Examine the results of the summary analysis. Recall that 17.8 percent of U.S. House members are women. Now, consider the following statement: “The percentage of women in the U.S. House is about average for a democratic country.” Is this statement accurate? Answer yes or no, and explain your reasoning.

C. Suppose a women’s advocacy organization vows to support female congressional candidates so that the U.S. House might someday “be ranked among the top 10 percent of democracies in the percentage of female members.” According to the percentiles column of the summary analysis, to meet this goal women would need to constitute about what percentage of the House? (circle one)

• About 25 percent
• About 40 percent
• About 50 percent

D. Create a histogram of women13. Print the histogram.

E. Run Analyze – Reports – Case Summaries. Click Country into the Variables box and women13 into the Grouping Variable(s) box. Make sure to uncheck the box next to “Limit cases to first 100.” Examine the output.

• The five countries with the lowest percentages of women legislators are?
• The five countries with the highest percentages of women legislators are?

3. (Dataset: GSS. Variables: femrole, wtss.) Two pundits are arguing about the general public’s views on the role of women in the home and in politics.

Pundit 1: “Our society has a minority of traditionally minded individuals who think that the proper ‘place’ for women is taking care of the home and caring for children. This small but vocal group of traditionalists aside, the typical adult supports the idea that women belong in work and in politics.”

Pundit 2: “Poppycock! It’s just the opposite. The extremist feminist crowd has distorted the overall picture. The typical view among most citizens is that women should be in the home, not in work and politics.”

A. Dataset GSS (file name: gss.sav) contains femrole, an interval-level variable that measures respondents’ attitudes toward women in society and politics. Scores can range from o (women belong in the home) to 9 (women belong in work and politics).

If Pundit 1 is correct, femrole will have (circle one)

• a negative skew.
• no skew.
• a positive skew.

If Pundit 2 is correct, femrole will have (circle one)

• a negative skew.
• no skew.
• a positive skew.

If Pundit 1 is correct, femrole’s mean will be (circle one)

• lower than its median.
• the same as its median.
• higher than its median.

If Pundit 2 is correct, femrole’s mean will be (circle one)

• lower than its median.
• the same as its median.
• higher than its median.

B. Perform a frequencies analysis of femrole. Obtain the mean, median, and mode, as well as skewness. Obtain a bar chart with percentages. Fill in the table that follows.

C. Create a bar chart of femrole. Be sure to use sample weights so the distribution is nationally representative. Override the default bar fill color with a color of your choice. Print the bar chart.

D. Consider the evidence you obtained in parts B and C. Based on your analysis, whose assessment is more accurate? (circle one)

Pundit 1’s

Pundit 2’s

Citing specific evidence obtained in parts B and C, explain your reasoning.

4. (Dataset: GSS. Variables: attend, wtss.) The GSS dataset (file name: gss.sav) provides a rich array of variables that permit scholars to study religiosity in the adult population. The GSS dataset contains attend, a 9-point ordinal scale that measures how often respondents attend religious services. Values can range from 1 (“Never”) to 9 (“More than once a week”).

A. The shell of a bar chart is given below. The categories of attend appear along the horizontal axis. What would a bar chart of attend look like if this variable had maximum dispersion? Sketch inside the axes a bar chart that would depict maximum dispersion.

B. What would a bar chart of attend look like if this variable had no dispersion? Sketch inside the axes a bar chart that would depict no dispersion.

C. Obtain frequencies output and a bar chart for attend. In the main Frequencies window, make sure that the “Display frequencies table” box is checked. In Statistics, see that all the boxes are unchecked. In Charts, request a bar chart with percentages. Based on your results, complete the following table.

*Weighted frequencies rounded to two decimal places.

D. Print the bar chart you obtained for the last part of this exercise.

E. Based on your examination of the frequency distribution,

the mode of attend is ___________.

the median of attend is ___________.

F. Based on your examination of the frequency distribution and bar chart, you would conclude that attend has (circle one)

low dispersion.

high dispersion.

5. (Dataset: NES. Variables: immig_chldrn, grass, pres_job, nesw.) We frequently describe public opinion by referring to how citizens distribute themselves on a political issue. Consensus is a situation in which a large majority, 60-70 percent of the public, holds the same position, or very similar positions, on an issue. Dissensus is a situation in which opinion is spread out evenly across all positions on an issue. Polarization refers to a configuration of opinion in which people are split between two extreme poles of an issue, with only a few individuals populating the more moderate, middle-of-the-road positions.

In this exercise you will decide whether consensus, dissensus, or polarization best describes public opinion, as measured by three NES variables: opinions about allowing people brought to this country illegally as children to stay in the United States (immig_chldrn), opinions on whether marijuana should be legalized (grass), and opinions about how well the president is performing his job (pres_job). The question regarding children brought illegally is measured on a 6-point scale, from “Should send back-favor a great deal” (point 1.) to “Should allow to stay-favor a great deal” (point 6). The marijuana legalization question uses a 3-point scale: “Favor” (point 1), “Neither favor nor oppose” (point 2), and “Oppose” (point 3). Presidential job approval is measured on a 4-point scale, from “Approve strongly” (point 1) to “Disapprove strongly” (point 4).

A. Obtain frequency distributions and bar charts for immig_chldrn, grass, and pres_job. Remember to weight the analyses using nesw. In the tables that follow, write the appropriate percentage next to each question mark.

B. Examine the percentages you entered in the tables above. Of the three issues, which one most closely approximates consensus? (check one)

• Sending back children brought to U.S. illegally
• Legalization of marijuana
• Presidential approval

Briefly explain your reasoning.

C. Of the three issues, which one most closely approximates dissensus? (circle one)

• Sending back children brought to U.S. illegally
• Legalization of marijuana
• Presidential approval

Briefly explain your reasoning.

D. Of the three issues, which one most closely approximates polarization? (circle one)

• Sending back children brought to U.S. illegally
• Legalization of marijuana
• Presidential approval

Briefly explain your reasoning.

E. Print the bar chart of the variable you chose in part D.

6. (Dataset: NES. Variables: cong_approve, cong_incumb_approve, nesw.) Pedantic pontificator claims he has discovered how voters evaluate the performance of House incumbents: “I call it my ‘guilt by association’ theory. When voters disapprove of the way Congress has been handling its job, they transfer that negative evaluation to their House incumbent. My theory is eminently plausible and surely correct. The distribution of opinions about House incumbents will be very similar to the distribution of opinions about the whole Congress.”

The NES dataset contains cong_approve, which gauges respondent approval or disapproval of “the way the U.S. Congress has been handling its job.” The dataset also has cong_incumb_approve, which measures approval or disapproval of the way each respondent’s House incumbent “has been handling his or her job.”

A. To test pedantic pontificator’s theory, perform a frequencies analysis of cong_approve and cong_incumb_approve. Obtain bar charts with percentages. Refer to the Valid Percent column of the frequency distributions. In the table that follows, write the appropriate percentages next to each question mark.

B. Consider the evidence. Does pedantic pontificator’s theory appear to be correct or incorrect? (circle one) Explain your reasoning.

Correct

Incorrect

7. (Dataset: States. Variables: defexpen, state.) Here is some conventional political wisdom: Well-positioned members of Congress from a handful of states are successful in getting the federal government to spend revenue in their states-defense-related expenditures, for example. The typical state, by contrast, receives far fewer defense budget dollars.

A. Suppose you measured the amount of defense-related expenditures in each state. The conventional wisdom says that when you look at the amount of defense-related expenditures in the United States, a few states would have a high amount of defense spending. Most states, however, would have lower values on this variable.

If the conventional wisdom is correct, the distribution of defense-related expenditures will have (circle one)

a negative skew.

no skew.

a positive skew.

If the conventional wisdom is correct, the mean of defense-related expenditures will be (circle one)

lower than its median.

the same as its median.

higher than its median.

B. The States dataset contains the variable defexpen, defense expenditures per capita for each of the fifty states. Perform a frequencies analysis of defexpen. In Statistics, obtain the mean and median, as well as skewness. (You do not need to obtain the mode for this exercise.) In the main Frequencies window, uncheck the “Display frequency tables” box. In Charts, request a histogram. Examine the results. Examine the histogram. Record the mean, median, and skewness next to the question marks in the table that follows.

C. Which is the better measure of central tendency? (circle one)

mean

median

Briefly explain your answer.

D. Print the histogram you produced in part B.

E. Based on your analysis, would you say that the conventional wisdom is accurate or inaccurate? (check one)

• The conventional wisdom is accurate.
• The conventional wisdom is inaccurate.

F. Use the Analyze – Reports – Case Summaries procedure to obtain a ranked list of states, from lowest per capita defense spending to highest per capita defense spending. The state with the lowest per capita defense spending is _______, with $ _______ per capita. The state with the highest per capita defense spending is _______, with $ _______ per capita.

8. (Dataset: States. Variables: blackpct_2016, hispanicpct_2016.) Two demographers are arguing over how best to describe the racial and ethnic composition of the “typical” state.

Demographer 1: “The typical state is 8.25 percent black and 8.20 percent Hispanic.”

Demographer 2: “The typical state is 10.61 percent black and 11.26 percent Hispanic.”

A. Run frequencies for blackpct_2016 (the percentage of each state’s population that is African American) and hispanicpct_2016 (the percentage of each state’s population that is Hispanic). Click the Statistics button to request the mean and median, as well as skewness. (You do not need to obtain the mode for this exercise.) In Charts, obtain histograms. In the main Frequencies window, uncheck the “Display frequency tables” box. Record the appropriate statistics for each variable in the table that follows.

B. Based on your analysis, which demographer is more accurate? (circle one)

Demographer 1

Demographer 2

Write a few sentences explaining your reasoning.

C. Use the Analyze – Reports – Case Summaries procedure to obtain information on the percentage of Hispanics in the fifty states.

Which five states have the lowest percentages of Hispanics?

Which five states have the highest percentages of Hispanics?