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Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences

Alan Agresti, Barbara Finlay

Chapter 1

Introduction - all with Video Answers

Educators


Chapter Questions

01:41

Problem 1

Distinguish betueen dercripion and inference as two purposes for using statistical merhod. filustrare the distinction using an example

Harsh Gadhiya
Harsh Gadhiya
Numerade Educator
01:41

Problem 2

Give an example of a situation in which descriptive staristics wonld be helpful but infereurial caristical methods would noe be needed.

Harsh Gadhiya
Harsh Gadhiya
Numerade Educator
01:44

Problem 3

The Fin irmmental Proscetion Agency (EPA) uses a feu new automohiles of tach brand every ycar to collect data on pollution entission and garoline mileage perfomance For a piuticular brand, identrfy the (a) subjcct. (b) sample. (c) population.

Yingtai Xiao
Yingtai Xiao
Numerade Educator
00:22

Problem 4

a) Distinguish between ad statistic and a paranerer.
b) An article in a Floride newspaper (The Gainesville Sun) in 1995 reported that $66.5 \%$ of Flondians believe that stare governenent should nol restrict access to dbortion. $1866.5 \%$ most likely the value of a statistic, or of a parameter? Why?

Harsh Gadhiya
Harsh Gadhiya
Numerade Educator
01:18

Problem 5

The student government at the University of Wisconsun conducts a study about alcohol abuse among students. One hundred of the 40.000 inembers of the student body are sanlpled and asked to completc a questionnaire One question isked is "On how many days in the past week did you consume at least oee alooholic dnakk ${ }^2$
a) Describe the population of iuterest
b) For the 40,000 students, suppose that one charac teristic of interest is the percentage who would respond "zero" to this question. Tlis value is computed for tic students satmpled. Is il a parameter ot a starisic? Why?

Lucas Finney
Lucas Finney
Numerade Educator
03:11

Problem 6

The Current Population Survey of about ( 00.000 househoids in the United States in 1992 indicated that $10.3 \%$ of whites, $310 \%$ of blachs, and $267 \%$ of Hispancs in the Luited States have anuual income below the poverty level (Satissical Absrract of the United Stares. 1994).3) Are these numbers statistics or parameters? Explain b) Using a method from this text. we would conclude that the percentage of all hlack houscholds in the Uuited States having income below the poverty level is at least 30 C but no grater Uban $32 \%$. What type of statistical method does this illustrate-desernptive, or inferential?

Vaidik Stats
Vaidik Stats
Numerade Educator
02:04

Problem 7

Your instructot will help the class create a data file consisting of the values for class members of characleristics such as $G E=$ gender. $A G=$ age in years, $H J=$ high school GPA (on a four-point scale), $C O=$ college GPA, $D H=$ distance (in miles) of the campers from your homc town, $D R=$ distance (un miles) of the classroom from your cun ent residence, $N E=$ number of tines a week you read a newspaper. $7 V=$ average nutmber of hous per week that you watch TV, $S^P=$ alerage number of hours per week that you participate in sports or have othet physical cxercise, $V E=$ whether you are a vegetanan (yes, no), $A B=$ opinion about whether abortion should be legal in the first three months of pregnancy (yes, no) $P I=$ political ideology $(I=$ very libesal, $2=$ uberal, $3=$ slightly liberal, $4=$ modenate, $5=$ slightly conservative, $6=$ conservabve, $7=$ very conservative), $P A=$ political affiliation ( $\mathrm{D}=$ Democrat, $\mathrm{R}=$ Republican, $\mathrm{I}=$ independent). $R E=$ bou often you attend religious services (never, occasionally: most weeks, every week). $L D=$ beliet in life adte1 deads (yes, no). $A A=$ support affimative action (yes. no), $A H=$ number of people 1 ou Anou whu have died from AIDS or who are HIV+ Alternauvely. you insiructor may ask you to use a data file of this type already peepared in fall 1996 with a class of social science graduate sudents at the University of Florida, available on the World Wide Web al
http: $/ / \mathrm{www}$. stat. ufl.edu/users/aa/social/data.html
Using a spreadsheet program or the statistical suftware the instructor has chosen for your course, create a computer data file containing this infornation Each row of the file should contain data for $\triangle$ particular student, and each column should contain values of 4 particular clraracterstic Print the data. What are some questions one might ask about these data? Homework exercises in each chapter will refer to these data

Sheryl Ezze
Sheryl Ezze
Numerade Educator
01:12

Problem 8

A sociologist is interested in estimating the average dye at marnage for women in New England in the early eighteenth centary. She finds within her state archues reasonably complete marriage records for a large Purilan village for the years $1700-1730$. She then takes a samiplc of those records, noting the age of the bride for each. The average age of the brides in the sample is 24.1 years. Using a stakistical method from Chapter 5 , the sociologist then astimales the avcrage age of brides al maniage for the population to be betwect 23.5 and 247 years
a) What part of ths example is deseriptive?
b) What pact of this example is inferential?
c) To what popatation does the inference refer?

Sheryl Ezze
Sheryl Ezze
Numerade Educator
01:54

Problem 9

The 1994 General Social Survey of adult Americans askcd subjects whether astrolegythe stndy of star signs-has some scientific truth. Of 1245 sampled subjects who had an opibion, 651 responded definitely or probably true, and 594 responded definitely or probahly not true The proportion responding definitely or probably use was $651 / 1245=$ .523.
a) Describe the population of interest
b) For what population parameter might we waut to make an inference?
c) What sample statistic could be used in making this inference?
d) Does the value of the statistic in (c) necessarily equal the paramete in (b) ${ }^{-4}$ Explain.

Harsh Gadhiya
Harsh Gadhiya
Numerade Educator
03:06

Problem 10

Look at a fen recent issues of a major social science journal. such as Ancrican Sociological Review or American Political Science Review. About what proportion of the articles seem to use statistics? Find onme examples of descrptive statistics.

Gus Steppen
Gus Steppen
Numerade Educator

Problem 11

Find out what statistical software is available to you whele rakang this course, either on PCs or workstations in a computer lab or on an institution-wide mainframe computer Find oul how to access the software enter ddta and pnont any files you creare As an exescise, create a data file using the data in Table I | in Section 13 , and print it

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