Deck 1: The What and the Why of Statistics

Question 1

Nominal variables must include categories that are ______ and ______.

A)dependent;independent
B)common;empirically rational
C)actual;theoretical
D)exhaustive;mutually exclusive

Answer 1

exhaustive;mutually exclusive

Question 2

A research study examining gender composition in the work place is likely using ______ as the unit of analysis.

A)gender
B)male or female
C)employment status
D)the organization

Answer 2

the organization

Question 3

A subset of cases selected from the total set of cases is referred to as the

A)population.
B)sample.
C)entity.
D)variable.

Answer 3

sample.

Question 4

The extent to which measures indicate what they are intended to measure is referred to as

A)reliability.
B)statistical analysis.
C)validity.
D)standard error.

Question 5

Which of the following statements illustrates the cumulative property of levels of measurement?

A)Nominal level variables can be measured at interval-ratio levels.
B)Interval-ratio level variables can be measured at ordinal levels.
C)Ordinal level variables can be measured at interval-ratio levels.
D)Nominal level variables can be measured at ordinal levels.

Question 6

The term ______ variable refers to the variable that the researcher is trying to explain or predict.

A)input
B)independent
C)dependent
D)dichotomous

Question 7

The first step in most research involves

A)collecting data.
B)selecting an interesting question.
C)calculating statistics.
D)choosing a theoretical framework.

Question 8

Which of the following terms is considered a level of measurement?

A)Ordinal
B)Interview
C)Questionnaire
D)Population

Question 9

Why is a dichotomous variable so powerful?

A)It can be measured at three levels.
B)It cannot be ordered.
C)It has several intervals.
D)It has myriad values.

Question 10

The number of children per family is an example of a ______ variable.

A)continuous
B)selective
C)discrete
D)dichotomous

Question 11

A(n)______ is a property of people or objects that can take two or more values.

A)unit of analysis
B)variable
C)level of measurement
D)theory

Question 12

A(n)______ is a tentative prediction about how empirical events or attributes will be related or patterned.

A)theory
B)estimate
C)law
D)hypothesis

Question 13

Procedures that help organize or describe data collected from a sample or a population are called

A)descriptive statistics.
B)analytical variables.
C)inferential statistics.
D)dependent variables.

Question 14

The total set of cases,objects,groups,or events in which the researcher is interested is called the

A)population.
B)sample.
C)entity.
D)variable.

Question 15

The levels of social life on which social scientists focus are called

A)measures of tendency.
B)dependent variables.
C)independent variables.
D)units of analysis.

Question 16

Religion is a ______ and ______ variable.

A)dichotomous;quantitative
B)statistical;quantitative
C)nominal;qualitative
D)dependent;qualitative

Question 17

Which of the following factors is a dichotomous variable?

A)Length
B)Marital status
C)Income
D)SAT score

Question 18

An organized and elaborate conceptual scheme that serves to explain how social attributes and events are patterned or related is called a

A)law.
B)theory.
C)hypothesis.
D)variable.

Question 19

Researchers use the term ______ to refer to information that is obtained and verified by direct experience.

A)variable
B)unit of analysis
C)empirical research
D)theory

Question 20

Which of the following variables is an example of an interval-ratio level of measurement?

A)Social class
B)Gender
C)Political party
D)Income

Question 21

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.If the population of a study is taken to be all humans above 18 years old living in CA,then which of the following are samples of this population?

A)Females above 18 years old living in CA
B)Males above 18 years old not living in CA
C)Children less than 10 years old living in CA
D)Parents (of females above 18 years old living in CA and males above 18 years old not living in CA)living in CA

Question 22

The dependent variable is

A)exhaustive.
B)always a dichotomous variable.
C)the variable to be explained.
D)mutually exclusive.

Question 23

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.Which of the following topics fall under empirical research?

A)Relationship between income and education level
B)Fuel consumption increases with speed of vehicle
C)Female workers earn less than male workers
D)Crime rate during inflation

Question 24

Identify the independent variable,the dependent variable,and the unit of analysis in the following hypothesis: Geographically contiguous countries should experience higher rates of migration than non-contiguous countries.

Question 25

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.Which of the following statements are theories?

A)For every action,there is an equal and opposite reaction.
B)Unconscious and conscious mental activity motivates human behavior.
C)Power is unequally divided and some groups dominate others.
D)Is it bright outside because the sun is probably out?

Question 26

Identify the independent variable,the dependent variable,and the unit of analysis in the following hypothesis: Documented immigrants in the United States are less likely than undocumented immigrants to use social welfare programs.

Question 27

Imagine that you were interested in whether or not individuals had a high school education.Based on the below information,which level of measurement would you use?

Question 28

All hypotheses are derived from theories.

Question 29

In the cause-and-effect relationship of variables,the cause has to precede the effect in time.

Question 30

Identify the independent variable,the dependent variable,and the unit of analysis in the following hypothesis: Interstate migration in the United States lowers state poverty levels.

Question 31

Identify the independent variable,the dependent variable,and the unit of analysis in the following hypothesis: On average,the annual household income of female-headed households is about 25% less than the annual household income of married couple households.

Question 32

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.Which of the following are continuous variables?

A)Time
B)Length
C)Number of employees
D)Income

Question 33

Identify the independent variable,the dependent variable,and the unit of analysis in the following hypothesis: In the United States,fewer blacks than whites own their home as opposed to rent their home.

Question 34

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.From the following categories of variables,which of them are mutually exclusive and exhaustive?

A)Days: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday,Saturday,and Sunday
B)Days: Weekday and Weekend
C)Letters: Vowels and Consonants
D)Letters: Alphabets and Consonants

Question 35

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.Which of the following are ways of collecting data?

A)Surveys
B)Interviews
C)Experiments
D)Assumptions

Question 36

SELECT ALL THAT APPLY.Which of the following are not dichotomous variables?

A)Religion
B)Gender
C)Color
D)Employment

Question 37

The logic and procedures concerned with making predictions or inferences about a population from observation and analyses of a sample are said to be descriptive statistics.

Question 38

Imagine you were interested in constructing a measure of education where education was measured in terms of high,medium,and low.Based on the below information,which level of measurement would you use?

Question 39

The total set of individuals,objects,groups,or events in which the researcher is interested is defined as

A)data.
B)sample.
C)variable.
D)population.

Question 40

According to the following table,what is the variable of interest? Is this variable nominal,ordinal,or interval-ratio?

Question 41

Why is the average of the sample not equal to the average of the population as a whole?

Question 42

Provide an example of a research question.Identify the hypothesis,independent,and dependent variables for this question.

Question 43

Imagine you are a researcher who is interested in knowing whether or not a person was married in their twenties.What would be the level of measurement for this variable?

Question 44

Statistical procedure can be divided into two major categories: ______ statistics and ______ statistics.

Question 45

Given the following research area,develop the set of activities on how the research process should be followed:
Bullying is a national problem,particularly among children of various ethnic/racial backgrounds.

Question 46

Imagine that you are interested in studying the working habits of young adults.You hypothesize that persons first married in their twenties tend to work an average of 5 hours more per week than persons not first married in their twenties.You find a link between age at first marriage and hours worked per week.What three conditions must be satisfied in order for you to have established a causal connection?

Question 47

The categories used in the 2010 General Social Survey for the variable highest educational degree include the following: less than high school,high school,junior college,college,graduate school.Identify the level of measurement for this variable.

Question 48

Suppose that a researcher is interested in knowing whether there is a difference in the age at first marriage between women and men.The researcher hypothesizes that women tend to marry earlier than men.Which variable would be the independent variable?

Question 49

Suppose that a researcher is interested in studying the work habits of young adults.The researcher hypothesizes that persons first married in their twenties tend to work an average of 5 hours more per week than persons not first married in their twenties.What are the independent and dependent variables?

Question 50

Identify the level of measurement for the following variables from 2010 General Social Survey data: sex,race,highest educational degree earned,hours worked per week,and age at first marriage.