Deck 18: Data Analysis: Preliminary Steps

Question 1

Which of the following is TRUE?

A)The central-office edit depends primarily on follow-up,either directly with the interviewers to clear up discrepancies or by having the interviewers recontact the respondents to clear up inaccuracies or omissions.
B)If more than one person handles the central-office edit,the questionnaires should be divided by respondents with one editor doing all the work on a set of questionnaires.
C)The first step in establishing categories is to get a "feel" for the data through preliminary observation of the results so that one can decide what categories are pertinent.
D)Coding the data refers to the affixing of a code number to each completed questionnaire so as to aid in the identification of the respondent.
E)One editor should handle all completed questionnaires in the central-office edit.

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The field edit is NOT useful for which of the following?

A)Helping to control the field force.
B)Detecting glaring omissions.
C)Clearing up misunderstandings about directions.
D)Detecting misunderstood questions.
E)Detecting systematic patterns of answers.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

When coding data for computer analysis,which of the following is NOT recommended?

A)Use only one symbol per column in the computer record.
B)Use alphabetic characters.
C)Assign as many columns to a variable as is necessary to capture the variable,e.g. ,two columns would need to be assigned to a question with 20 possible answers.
D)Use standard codes like "8" for all "No answers" and "9" for all "Don't know" throughout the study.
E)Leave data ungrouped.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is FALSE with respect to the coding of open-ended questions?

A)The use of several coders can lead to inconsistent treatment of answers.
B)Open-ended questions are generally more difficult to code than closed-ended questions.
C)The coder must determine categories on the basis of answers that are not always anticipated.
D)Coding open-ended questions is typically less expensive than coding closed-ended questions.
E)When the task requires multiple coders,each coder should be assigned parts of the questionnaire for all questionnaires rather than a subset of the questionnaires.

Question 5

Which of the following is TRUE?

A)When preparing data for computer analysis,it is advisable to use alphabetic characters to code the data rather than numbers since alphabetic characters allow 26 codes per column while numbers only allow 10;thus,one can minimize the number of computer records per observation with alphabetic characters.
B)When preparing data for computer analysis,it is advisable to use as few records per observation as possible and thus the use of multiple entries per column is strongly recommended.
C)When a questionnaire requires more columns of code than will fit in a record,researchers should allow for a record sequence number along with a respondent identification number on each computer record.
D)A researcher is coding a variable that has ten possible answers.The researcher needs to provide two columns in the computer record when developing the codebook.
E)Data should be collapsed across groups when coding.

Question 6

Which of the following is NOT a recommended coding convention?

A)Use as many columns as necessary for the field.
B)Locate only one character in each column.
C)Use alphabetic codes if possible.
D)Use consistent codes for similar types of responses.
E)Code in an identification number for each questionnaire.

Question 7

Coding transforms raw data into ____ that may be ____.

A)secondary data,tabulated
B)symbols,manipulated
C)accessible form,automatically retrieved
D)tables,easily perceived
E)tables,analyzed for relationships between variables

Question 8

The field edit ideally occurs

A)as soon as possible after the questionnaire has been administered.
B)before the questionnaire is administered.
C)after tabulating the data.
D)after coding the data.
E)after the interviewing force is disbanded.

Question 9

Glaring errors are corrected through quick follow-up during the ____ while (the)____ is more concerned with deciding what exactly to do with the data.

A)field edit,central-office edit
B)field edit,preliminary edit
C)edit,coding
D)edit,tabulation
E)central-office edit,field edit

Question 10

The preliminary edit is NOT concerned with which of the following?

A)The handling of "don't know" responses.
B)Completeness of the answers.
C)Uniformity displayed in recording responses.
D)Legibility of responses.
E)Inconsistencies in responses.

Question 11

The main aim of editing is to

A)ensure that the analysis is valid.
B)impose maximum quality standards on the raw data.
C)establish a balance between costs and accuracy.
D)establish codes for the raw data.
E)establish minimum quality standards for the raw data.

Question 12

Which of the following questions do you think would be the easiest to code?

A)What are the three characteristics that you find most pleasing when using product X?
B)Have you ever used product X? ____ Yes ____ No
C)What religious denomination do you consider yourself?
D)Please specify the type of television set in your home?
E)How do you feel about commercials on children's TV shows?

Question 13

Which of the following statements is(are)true regarding coding?

A)The classes should always be mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
B)Multiple responses should never be coded.
C)Coding closed-ended questions is more difficult than coding open-ended questions.
D)Alphabetic codes should be assigned to the classes.
E)Both a and b are true statements.

Question 14

Which of the following is FALSE?

A)The field edit is primarily designed to detect the most glaring errors and omissions.
B)The only purpose of the field edit is to check the questionnaires or observational forms for completeness.
C)The purpose of analysis is to generate meaning from the collected data.
D)Editing involves the inspection and correction,if necessary,of each questionnaire or observation form.
E)The central-office edit depends less on follow-up and more on deciding exactly what to do with the data.

Question 15

The most difficult questions to code are

A)open-ended questions.
B)dichotomous questions.
C)questions using Stapel scales.
D)multichotomous questions.
E)questions using Likert scales.

Question 16

The following categories of ages are ____ and ____,but not ____. 18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55 and over

A)closed-ended,exhaustive,mutually exhaustive
B)open-ended,mutually exclusive,exhaustive
C)closed-ended,mutually exclusive,exhaustive
D)exhaustive,mutually exclusive,open-ended
E)None of the above.

Question 17

The location of each variable in the data array and the way in which it was coded is contained in a

A)diary.
B)random file.
C)codebook.
D)focus group.
E)catalog.

Question 18

The process of editing involves

A)categorizing the data.
B)counting the number of cases that fall into the various categories.
C)inspecting and correcting each questionnaire or observation form.
D)developing dummy tables that suggest how each item of information will be used before data is collected.
E)transforming the raw data into symbols.

Question 19

If a respondent indicates that he drives a foreign car,then later,in the same questionnaire,identifies it as a Ford,the editor should

A)change the "Ford" identification to "unknown foreign."
B)change the "foreign" identification to "domestic."
C)throw out both responses.
D)determine which of the responses is correct.
E)Any of the above may be correct.

Question 20

Which of the following might NOT be an appropriate strategy for dealing with missing information on a questionnaire?

A)Throw out the entire questionnaire.
B)Overlook the missing information and code the remaining answers.
C)Substitute information based on the responses of similar respondents.
D)Both a and c only.
E)All of the above might be appropriate.

Question 21

Which of the following statements about the coding process is FALSE?

A)During the coding process,data are categorized.
B)Raw data are transformed into symbols during the coding process.
C)Coding involves judgment on the part of the coder.
D)The coding process occurs almost automatically.
E)All of the above statements about the coding process are true.

Question 22

At a minimum,a codebook should include all of the following EXCEPT

A)the results of the study.
B)the variable name to be used in statistical analyses for each variable included in the data file.
C)the column(s)in which each variable is located in the data file.
D)a description of how each variable is coded.
E)an explanation of how missing data are treated in the data file.

Question 23

A local department store sent out a pre-Christmas survey in early November.The marketing team members,upon collecting the completed surveys,felt pressured to analyze the data before the Christmas rush.How could the central-office edit best be handled,given the time constraints?

A)The editors should evenly divide the surveys by respondents.
B)The editors should divide the surveys by parts.
C)The editors should review all surveys at the same time to ensure accuracy.
D)Both a or b.
E)a,b,or c.

Question 24

During the field edit,an editor confirms that a respondent has used an "N" to indicate a neutral reaction.Such an obscure abbreviation could cause a problem of

A)completeness.
B)legibility.
C)comprehensibility.
D)consistency.
E)uniformity.

Question 25

Which of the following might indicate that a respondent lacked interest in a questionnaire?

A)Check marks are not within the boxes provided.
B)Scribbles on the questionnaire.
C)Spills on the questionnaire.
D)It's unlikely that these mistakes occur due to lack of interest.
E)All of the above examples may indicate a lack of respondent interest.

Question 26

Multiple coders are recommended for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

A)the use of multiple coders can shorten the amount of time it takes to code.
B)multiple coders can help reduce bias in the interpretation of different responses.
C)results can easily be compared to ensure agreement among coders.
D)the use of multiple coders makes the coding process less expensive.
E)All of the above are legitimate reasons for using multiple coders.

Question 27

In a multiple-column record of a data file,____ represent different variables and ____ represent different respondents.

A)codes,numbers
B)numbers,codes
C)rows,columns
D)columns,rows
E)codes,symbols

Question 28

After supervising an entire study,John went through every questionnaire to check for completeness,legibility,comprehensibility,consistency,and uniformity.John was conducting what is known as a field error.

Question 29

In a job satisfaction survey,respondents were asked to indicate how many years they had worked for the company.One respondent wrote "ten months" in response to the item.A conversion of the answer to the correct unit of time (years)would be most likely to take place during the

A)field edit.
B)central-office edit.
C)coding process.
D)data analysis.
E)collection phase.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a step in coding open-ended responses?

A)Identify separate responses given by each individual.
B)Specify categories into which the responses can be placed.
C)Place each response into as many categories as possible.
D)Assess the degree of agreement between multiple coders.
E)All of the above are steps in the process of coding open-ended responses.

Question 31

Treatment of missing data depends mainly on the

A)purpose of the study.
B)incidence of the missing items.
C)methods that will be used to analyze the data.
D)Both a and b.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 32

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A)Questionnaires that omit complete sections should not automatically be thrown out.
B)A study in which all the returned questionnaires are completely filled out is common.
C)Questionnaires containing only isolated instances of item nonresponse should be retained.
D)Both a and c.
E)a,b,and c.

Question 33

When entering codes from data collection forms into a computer data file,which of the following programs could be used?

A)Text data files in word processing
B)Spreadsheet software
C)Statistical software packages such as SPSS
D)Optical scanner
E)All of the above could be used.

Question 34

In descriptive research,most of the items included in a questionnaire are likely to be

A)precoded.
B)closed-ended.
C)open-ended.
D)exhaustive.
E)mutually exclusive.

Question 35

A respondent indicated she redeemed a coupon at Walmart last week but later indicated that she had not visited a Walmart in over two weeks.This type of response poses a problem of

A)completeness.
B)legibility.
C)comprehensibility.
D)consistency.
E)uniformity.

Question 36

A questionnaire uses a 1-5 Likert scale to determine job satisfaction.When entering the data into a file,a researcher types a 7 instead of the 4 that the respondent had circled on the questionnaire.Such a mistake can be uncovered by performing what type of analysis?

A)Analysis of variance
B)Regression
C)Double-entry
D)Frequency analysis
E)Both c and d.

Question 37

A data-entry operator was having a bad day while inputting data from your research project.He occasionally entered "9" when meaning to enter "3".This is an example of a(n)

A)excusable error.
B)blunder.
C)codebook error.
D)outlier.
E)nonresponse error.

Question 38

The BEST way to handle missing items when analyzing the data is to

A)leave the item blank and report the number blank as a separate category.
B)eliminate the case with the missing item in analyses using the variable.
C)substitute values for the missing item.
D)eliminate the case from all further analyses.
E)There is no single best way for handling missing items.

Question 39

Which of the following statements about open-ended questions is FALSE?

A)Precoding is not necessary.
B)Response categories are provided for respondents.
C)There are multiple legitimate responses.
D)When categorizing open-ended responses,it is often necessary to include an "other" category.
E)All of the above statements about open-ended questions are true.

Question 40

Which of the following strategies for handling missing data makes maximum use of the data?

A)Substituting values for the missing data.
B)Reporting the number of blanks as a separate category.
C)Eliminating the case with the missing data in analyses using the variable(s)for which data is missing.
D)Eliminating questionnaires with missing data.
E)None of the above.

Question 41

Blunders are errors that occur during editing,coding or especially data entry.

Question 42

An error that arises during editing,coding,or data entry is called a(n)____________________.

Question 43

____________________ is a source of nonsampling error that arises when a respondent agrees to an interview but refuses,or is unable,to answer specific questions.

Question 44

Optical scanning uses scanner technology to "read" responses on paper surveys and then stores these responses in a data file.

Question 45

The ____________________ is a preliminary edit designed to detect the most glaring omissions and inaccuracies in the data.

Question 46

Compare and contrast the various methods or options for dealing with missing data in analyses.

Question 47

A central office edit is also sometimes called an "eyeball" edit.

Question 48

Tom was given the task of assigning numbers to each of the classification categories.For example,Freshman were assigned a 1,Sophomore a 2,and so on.This is known as the process of Assigning.

Question 49

A field edit is useful for clearing up misunderstandings about directions.

Question 50

The use of scanner technology to "read" responses on paper surveys and to store these responses in a data file is called ____________________.

Question 51

____________________ is the process of transforming raw data into symbols.

Question 52

The most difficult questions to code are questions using the Likert scales.