Question 1

Which of the following Compute numerical expressions correctly calculates the white percent of a population? (WHITE is the number of persons white; NONWHITE is the number of persons not white.)
A) WHITE * 100
B) WHITE / NONWHITE * 100
C) WHITE / ( WHITE + NONWHITE ) * 100
D) 100 * ( WHITE - NONWHITE ) / WHITE

Accepted Answer

The percentage of white population can be calculated by dividing the number of white persons by the total population and multiplying by 100. This is given by the expression WHITE / (WHITE + NONWHITE) * 100, which correctly computes the white percent of the population.

Question 2

A variable has valid codes of 1, 2, 3, and 4. You recode it so that cases with 1s are coded as 4s, 2s are coded as 3s, 3s are coded as 2s, and 4s are coded as 1s. What have you accomplished?
A) You have caused all the cases to be coded as 1s.
B) You have collapsed the coding.
C) You have reversed the coding.
D) You have split the file into four groups.

Accepted Answer

The recoding has reversed the coding, meaning that the original codes have been switched with different codes. The new codes are the reverse of the original codes. For example, 1s are now coded as 4s, and 4s are now coded as 1s.

Question 3

The variable GENDER is coded 0 for males and 1 for females. EDUC is a person's years of schooling and SPEDUC is their spouse's years of schooling. The following Select If condition would limit the analysis to which persons? GENDER = 1 and EDUC > SPEDUC
A) men with more education than their wives
B) women who are married
C) women and persons with more education than their spouses
D) women with more education than their husbands

Accepted Answer

The condition GENDER = 1 limits the analysis to females only. The condition EDUC > SPEDUC means that the female has more education than her spouse (in this case, likely her husband). Therefore, the Select If condition limits the analysis to women with more education than their husbands.

Question 4

Which of the following z-scores is closest to the mean?
A) −100
B) −1
C) 5
D) 100

Accepted Answer

The z-score of -1 is the only one that is close to the mean of 0. A z-score of -100 and 100 are very far away from the mean, and a z-score of 5 is still considerably far away.

Question 5

A data set contains information on 100 married couples. One of the variables is the husband's age; another is the wife's age. To create a new variable which is the difference between the husband's age and the wife's age, you would use which SPSS procedure?
A) Compute
B) Recode
C) Scale
D) Split File

Accepted Answer

The Compute procedure in SPSS allows you to create new variables based on mathematical operations and functions applied to existing variables. In this case, the new variable would be the difference between the husband's age and the wife's age, which can be calculated using the Compute procedure. Recode, Scale, and Split File procedures are not appropriate for this task.

Question 6

To limit an analysis to just a subset of the cases in a data set which meet a particular condition, you would use which SPSS procedure?
A) Compute
B) Recode
C) Select Cases
D) Split File

Accepted Answer

The procedure for limiting the analysis to just a subset of cases in a data set which meet a particular condition is the Select Cases procedure in SPSS. It allows you to create a new data set containing only those cases that meet your criteria, such as selecting cases with a particular value on a variable, or selecting cases based on a combination of values across variables. The Compute, Recode, and Split File procedures are used for different purposes and would not achieve the same goal as the Select Cases procedure in this case.

Question 7

Which of the following Compute numeric expressions takes the value of CARS, adds 3 to it, then multiplies the sum by 2, and then takes that product and adds 5 to it?
A) CARS + 3 * 2 + 5
B) CARS + 3 * ( 2 + 5 )
C) ( CARS + 3 ) * ( 2 + 5 )
D) ( CARS + 3 ) * 2) + 5

Accepted Answer

The expression should be evaluated in the following order: add 3 to CARS (CARS+3), then multiply the result by 2 [(CARS+3)*2], and finally add 5 to the previous result [(CARS+3)*2+5]. Choice D correctly places the parentheses around (CARS+3)*2 before adding 5, making it the best option.

Question 8

Which of the following is correct about the order of arithmetic operations used by SPSS?
A) division is done before multiplication
B) multiplication is done before division
C) multiplication and division have equal priority
D) division is not permitted within SPSS

Accepted Answer

Multiplication and division have equal priority in SPSS, and they are performed from left to right according to their appearance in the expression.

Question 9

What is the lowest level of measurement for which it is permissible to calculate Z-scores?
A) nominal
B) ordinal
C) interval/ratio

Accepted Answer

Z-scores require interval or ratio level measurements as they involve converting the raw score to a standard deviation unit based on the mean and standard deviation of the data set. Nominal and ordinal data do not have equal intervals between categories, which is a requirement for calculating z-scores.

Question 10

A researcher is planning to create an index consisting of five variables: varA, varB, varC, varD, and varE. Based on the following output from the Reliability Analysis procedure, what would you recommend?

A) Drop varA.
B) Drop varB.
C) Create the index using all five variables.
D) There is no way to use all or some of these items to create an index with acceptable reliability.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A researcher is planning to create an...

Question 11

To divide the cases in a data set into separate subgroups in order to perform a particular statistical procedure on each subgroup, you would use which SPSS procedure?
A) Compute
B) Recode
C) Select Cases
D) Split File

Accepted Answer

The Split File procedure in SPSS allows you to divide a dataset based on one or more grouping variables, and then perform analyses separately on each subgroup. This is useful for comparing results between subgroups or adjusting for differences between them.

Question 12

A survey includes 10 political statements. For each statement, respondents are asked to indicate their extent of agreement using a scale from 0 to 5. Half the statements are very liberal in nature, half are very conservative. The researcher wants to add up the scores on the 10 items to obtain an overall index of political liberalism. Before adding up the 10 scores, the researcher should do what with the conservative statement items?
A) convert them into z-scores using Descriptives
B) delete them using Select If
C) double their weight using Compute
D) reverse the coding using Recode

Accepted Answer

To obtain an overall index of political liberalism, it is important to make sure that the responses to the conservative statement items are consistent with the scale used for the liberal items. By reversing the coding of the conservative items, their scores will be consistent with the liberal items and can be added together to obtain an overall index of political liberalism. Therefore, option D is the best choice.

Question 13

Which of the following Select If conditions would limit the analysis to persons with less than 12 years of schooling who have 3 or more children? A) SCHOOLING < 12 and CHILDREN > 3 B) SCHOOLING < 12 or CHILDREN > 3 C) SCHOOLING < 12 and CHILDREN >=3 D) SCHOOLING < 12 or CHILDREN >= 3

Accepted Answer

The Select If condition should include both criteria: less than 12 years of schooling AND 3 or more children. The correct condition that meets both criteria is "SCHOOLING < 12 and CHILDREN >=3". Option A only includes persons who have less than 12 years of schooling AND more than 3 children, which means it excludes those who have exactly 3 children. Option B includes persons who have less than 12 years of schooling OR more than 3 children, which does not meet both criteria. Option D includes persons who have less than 12 years of schooling OR more than or equal to 3 children, which means it includes those who have exactly 3 children but more than 12 years of schooling.

Question 14

Which of the following Select If conditions would limit the analysis to cases between the ages of 30 and 49? A) AGE = 30 or AGE = 49 B) AGE <= 30 and AGE >=49 C) AGE >= 30 and AGE <=49 D) AGE >= 30 or AGE <=49

Accepted Answer

The condition "AGE >= 30 and AGE <=49" is the correct one to limit the analysis to cases between the ages of 30 and 49. The other options either include too wide a range (Option A and D) or no range at all (Option B).

Question 15

You want to do a separate analysis for each of the following three groups and only for these three groups: persons with just 8 years of schooling, persons with just 12 years of schooling, and persons with just 16 years of schooling. What should you do?
A) set Select Cases to "SCHOOLING = 8 or SCHOOLING = 12 or SCHOOLING = 16"
B) set Select Cases to "SCHOOLING = 8 or SCHOOLING = 12 or SCHOOLING = 16" and put SCHOOLING into the Groups list on Split File
C) put SCHOOLING into the Groups list on Split File
D) Compute a new variable whose numeric expression is "SCHOOLING = 8 or SCHOOLING = 12 or SCHOOLING = 16"

Accepted Answer

Setting Select Cases to "SCHOOLING = 8 or SCHOOLING = 12 or SCHOOLING = 16" will ensure that only the three groups of interest are included in the analysis. However, this alone will not split the file by these groups. We also need to specify that we want to split the file by the variable SCHOOLING using the Split File function. This will ensure that separate analyses are done for each of the three groups. Option A does not include the Split File function, while option C only includes the Split File function without specifying the groups. Option D suggests creating a new variable, which is unnecessary given that the SCHOOLING variable already contains the necessary grouping information.

Question 16

When all the values on a variable have been converted into z-scores, the mean
A) becomes 0
B) becomes 1
C) becomes 100
D) is the same as before the values were converted

Accepted Answer

Converting values into z-scores involves subtracting the mean of the variable from each value, and then dividing by the standard deviation of the variable. This transformation results in a new variable with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1. Therefore, the answer is A, as the mean becomes 0 after conversion.

Question 17

Which of the following is correct about the order of arithmetic operations used by SPSS?
A) addition is done before subtraction
B) anything within parentheses is done last
C) multiplication is done before addition
D) multiplication is done before division

Accepted Answer

Multiplication and division are performed before addition and subtraction in the order of operations, which is a standard mathematical convention followed by SPSS and other computational tools.

Question 18

To collapse a variable with nine categories into a variable with just three categories while not losing any valid cases, you would use which SPSS procedure?
A) Compute
B) Recode
C) Select Cases
D) Split File

Accepted Answer

The Recode procedure allows for collapsing categories while retaining valid cases. Selecting the appropriate option can produce a new variable with fewer categories without losing data.

Question 19

You want to do a separate analysis for each region but only include persons born before 1950 in the analysis. What should you do?
A) set Select Cases to "REGION and YEAROFBIRTH < 1950"
B) put both REGION and YEAROFBIRTH into the Groups list on Split File
C) put REGION into the Groups list on Split File and set Select Cases to "YEAROFBIRTH < 1950"
D) put "YEAROFBIRTH < 1950" into the Groups list on Split File and set Select Cases to "REGION"

Accepted Answer

Option C is correct because it involves two steps that together accomplish the goal: first, splitting the file by REGION ensures that the analysis is done separately for each region. Second, setting Select Cases to "YEAROFBIRTH < 1950" filters the data to include only those persons born before 1950. This combination precisely meets the requirements.

Question 20

To combine categories of a variable so that you end up with a variable with fewer categories, you would use which SPSS procedure?
A) Recode
B) Scale
C) Select Cases
D) Split File

Accepted Answer

The Recode procedure allows you to combine categories of a variable by assigning new values to existing categories or grouping existing categories into new ones. This results in a variable with fewer categories.

Quiz 5: Creating New Variables

Which of the following Compute numerical expressions correctly calculates the white percent of a population? (WHITE is the number of persons white; NONWHITE is the number of persons not white.)

A variable has valid codes of 1, 2, 3, and 4. You recode it so that cases with 1s are coded as 4s, 2s are coded as 3s, 3s are coded as 2s, and 4s are coded as 1s. What have you accomplished?

The variable GENDER is coded 0 for males and 1 for females. EDUC is a person's years of schooling and SPEDUC is their spouse's years of schooling. The following Select If condition would limit the analysis to which persons? GENDER = 1 and EDUC > SPEDUC

Which of the following z-scores is closest to the mean?

A data set contains information on 100 married couples. One of the variables is the husband's age; another is the wife's age. To create a new variable which is the difference between the husband's age and the wife's age, you would use which SPSS procedure?

To limit an analysis to just a subset of the cases in a data set which meet a particular condition, you would use which SPSS procedure?

Which of the following Compute numeric expressions takes the value of CARS, adds 3 to it, then multiplies the sum by 2, and then takes that product and adds 5 to it?

Which of the following is correct about the order of arithmetic operations used by SPSS?

What is the lowest level of measurement for which it is permissible to calculate Z-scores?

A researcher is planning to create an index consisting of five variables: varA, varB, varC, varD, and varE. Based on the following output from the Reliability Analysis procedure, what would you recommend?

To divide the cases in a data set into separate subgroups in order to perform a particular statistical procedure on each subgroup, you would use which SPSS procedure?

Which of the following Select If conditions would limit the analysis to persons with less than 12 years of schooling who have 3 or more children?

Which of the following Select If conditions would limit the analysis to cases between the ages of 30 and 49?

You want to do a separate analysis for each of the following three groups and only for these three groups: persons with just 8 years of schooling, persons with just 12 years of schooling, and persons with just 16 years of schooling. What should you do?

When all the values on a variable have been converted into z-scores, the mean

Which of the following is correct about the order of arithmetic operations used by SPSS?

To collapse a variable with nine categories into a variable with just three categories while not losing any valid cases, you would use which SPSS procedure?

You want to do a separate analysis for each region but only include persons born before 1950 in the analysis. What should you do?

To combine categories of a variable so that you end up with a variable with fewer categories, you would use which SPSS procedure?