2. One section of the questionnaire, asking about focal children who were ages 1 to 4 years old, began
with, "Sometimes children behave well and sometimes they don't. Have you had to spank (CHILD)
when they behaved badly in the past week? About how many times have you had to spank (CHILD)
in the past week? (number of times)" (M297).
a. What is the median number of times parents spanked their toddler in the past week, using
the calculating formula presented in class?
b. In SPSS, find out the average number of times respondents spanked their 1-4-year old boys
and girls (F1SEX), respectively, in the past week, and paste it here. Then, calculate a t-test to
determine whether there is a statistically significant difference in the average number of
times parents spanked their 1-4-year-old child depending upon whether that child was a boy
vs girl, and reach a conclusion.
c. Calculate and interpret a 99% confidence interval to estimate the difference (min to max) in
the average number of times per week 1-4-year old boys vs girls get spanked in the U.S.
d. In #2b, what is the independent and dependent variable, respectively?
e. Calculate and interpret a 95% confidence interval to estimate the true average number of
times that mothers (M2DP01) in the U.S. spanked (M297) their 1-4-year-old boys (F1SEX) in
the last week. (Note that you'll have to use the "Next" button in the "Compare Means"
procedure to get the number you need).
f. Based on the coefficient of variation (you'll need to hand calculate), which group - women
or men (mothers or fathers) - is more diverse when it comes to the number of times they
spink their toddlers? Explain.
