Data Analysis in the Social Sciences
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
Data Analysis in the Social Sciences introduces students to the fundamental concepts, methodologies, and tools used to collect, analyze, and interpret data within social science research. The course covers both quantitative and qualitative methods, including survey design, sampling techniques, statistical analysis, and data visualization. Emphasis is placed on developing practical skills in using software such as Excel and statistical packages (e.g., SPSS, R) to manage and analyze real-world social data. Through hands-on projects and case studies, students learn how to critically evaluate research findings, draw evidence-based conclusions, and effectively communicate results to diverse audiences. This course equips students with essential analytical skills relevant for research, policy analysis, and decision-making in the social sciences.
Recommended Textbook
Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences 5th Edition by James Jaccard
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
17 Chapters
2466 Verified Questions
2466 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/3221 Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction and Mathematical Preliminaries
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
146 Verified Questions
146 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63801
Sample Questions
Q1) What type of scale is being used for each of the following measurements?
a.The number of arithmetic problems correctly solved
b.Class standing (i.e.One's rank in the graduating class)
c.Type of phobia
d.Body temperature in (F)
e.Annual income in dollars
f.Place in dog show
g.Heart rate in beats per minute
Answer: a.Ratio
b.Ordinal
c.Nominal
d.Interval
e.Ratio
f.Ordinal
g.Ratio
Q2) It is necessary for a variable to be manipulated in order for it to be conceptualized as an independent variable.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 3
Chapter 2: Frequency and Probability Distributions
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
150 Verified Questions
150 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63792
Sample Questions
Q1) A table that lists scores on a variable and shows the number of occurrences of each score is called a _____ distribution.
A)probability
B)frequency
C)normal
D)density
Answer: B
Q2) One should always report at least 10 groups in a grouped frequency distribution.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) There are numerous hard-and-fast rules for presenting frequency information.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Frequency polygons are typically used only when the variables being reported are discrete in nature.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 4
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 4: Percentiles percentile Ranks standard Scores
and
the Normal Distribution
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
176 Verified Questions
176 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63790
Sample Questions
Q1) The _____ of a set of standard scores is always equal to 0.
A)standard deviation
B)mean
C)sum
D)mean and sum
Q2) A z score converts the raw score to a form that takes into consideration its standing relative to the _____ and _____ of the entire distribution of scores.
A)median;standard deviation
B)mean;standard deviation
C)mean;variance
D)median;interquartile range
Q3) In some normal distributions,the proportion of scores that occur above or below a given standard score is different.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Janet received an 80 on her English exam and a 50 on her chemistry exam.The Mean for the class in English was 78 SD=2 and the mean for the chemistry exam was 48 and SD = 4.Transform Janet's score on her Chemistry exam into a T-score.
Page 5
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 5: Pearson Correlation and Regression: Descriptive Aspects
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
152 Verified Questions
152 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63789
Sample Questions
Q1) Pearson correlation is an appropriate statistic for a nonlinear relationship. A)True
B)False
Q2) If grade point average (GPA)and number of hours partying were related according to the following linear model: GPA= 4.00 - .40 Hours,what GPA would you predict if you partied for 8 hours?
A).80
B)2.20
C)1.00
D)3.60
Q3) The slope of a line tells you ______.
A)the change in Y for every 1-unit change in X
B)the change X for every 1-unit change in Y
C)the predicted value of Y when X equals zero
D)the average amount of error when predicting Y from X
Q4) The ____________________ minimizes the sum of the squared discrepancies between the predicted and observed Y scores.
Q5) The value of a slope can be positive only.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 6
Chapter 3: Measures of Central Tendency and Variability
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
154 Verified Questions
154 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63791
Sample Questions
Q1) Measures of central tendency include the following EXCEPT _____.
A)mean
B)median
C)mode
D)range
E)All of these are measures of central tendency.
Q2) What measures are used to determine the amount of variability that occurs in a data set?
A)Variance
B)Standard Deviation
C)Mean
D)Both Variance and Standard Deviation
E)All of these
Q3) One problem with the sum of squares as an index of variability is that its size depends not only on the amount of _____ among the scores,but also on the _____ of scores.
A)variability;number
B)skewness;kurtosis
C)error;number
D)none of these
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 7
Chapter 7: Estimation and Sampling Distributions
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
151 Verified Questions
151 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63787
Sample Questions
Q1) Sampling from a finite population _____ is analogous to sampling from an infinite population _____.
A)with replacement;with replacement
B)without replacement;with replacement
C)with replacement;without replacement
D)without replacement;without replacement
Q2) In practice,it is _____ to compute the exact amount of sampling error that occurs.
A)unnecessary
B)difficult
C)impossible
D)relatively easy
Q3) In statistics,the phrase _____ is used to indicate the number of pieces of information that are "free of each other" in the sense that they cannot be deduced from one another.
A)degrees of freedom
B)degrees of deduction
C)degrees of independence
D)degrees of information
Q4) What two factors influence the size of the standard error of the mean?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 8
Chapter 8: Hypothesis Testing: Inferences About a Single Mean
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
160 Verified Questions
160 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63786
Sample Questions
Q1) The confidence interval most commonly used by researchers in the behavioral sciences is the 100% confidence interval.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Suppose you know that the mean score (m)on a measure of the personality trait "Openness to Experience" is 35.66 in a population of artists,with a standard deviation (s)of 13.32.Next,assume you went to Greenwich Village and gave this personality measure to a group of 10 artists.The mean in this sample was 40.33.You are interested in testing whether the 10 Greenwich Village artists were sampled from the same population described above.How would you state the null hypothesis for this test?
Q3) When a researcher knows the population standard deviation,and has a population value to compare a sample value to,the appropriate statistical test is the
Q4) Briefly describe the steps involved in the hypothesis testing process.
Q5) Directional tests are often referred to as :
A)unbiased tests
B)single distribution tests
C)one-sample tests
D)one-tailed tests
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 6: Probability
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
149 Verified Questions
149 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63788
Sample Questions
Q1) What is the relationship between the binomial distribution and the normal distribution?
Q2) Suppose you wanted a rat to learn a maze which included 3 choice points and each choice included 3 different directions.Assume only 1 choice can be correct at a time.What is the probability of a rat finding the goal without any errors? A)3!
B)27
C)1/9
D).333<sup>3</sup>
Q3) If the observations are so different from the expected result of a study that the difference cannot be due to chance,then you should reject the _____.
A)alpha level
B)conditional probability
C)alternative hypothesis
D)null hypothesis
Q4) Using the example of a coin flip,distinguish between a trial and an event.
Q5) The probability of the likelihood of an event given some other event refers to a ____________________ probability.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 10
Chapter 9: Principles of Research Design and Statistical
Preliminaries for Analyzing Bivariate Relationships
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
150 Verified Questions
150 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63785
Sample Questions
Q1) Random assignment guarantees that the research groups will not differ beforehand on the dependent variable.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The ____________________is a computer simulation which allows statisticians to determine if a data set violates an assumption.
Q3) A major goal of research design is to create alternative explanations.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A common strategy to control disturbance variables is (are):
A)holding a variable constant.
B)matching.
C)random assignment to experimental groups.
D)all of these
Q5) What is matching?
Q6) Statisticians may determine the effects of violating assumptions by A)using mathematical logic
B)conducting a Monte Carlo study
C)both of these
D)none of these
11
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 10: Independent Groups T -Test
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
149 Verified Questions
149 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63800
Sample Questions
Q1) Confidence intervals are used to_____.
A)provide information about sampling error
B)whether of nor a relationship exist between the independent and dependent variables
C)whether or not homogeneity of variance has been violated.
D)Both a & b
E)All of these
Q2) Given that your calculated t is 5.09 and there was a total of 62 subjects the strength of the relationship is_________.
Q3) What assumption is made so that the pooled variance estimate can be substituted for the population variances within the standard error of the differences formula?
A)the population variances are homogeneous.
B)the population variances are heterogeneous.
C)the sample sizes are equal.
D)the sample sizes are large.
Q4) What factors influence the size of the standard error of the difference?
Q5) The_______tells you how much variance can be explained by the affect independent variable had on the dependent variable.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 13
Chapter 11: Correlated Groups T-Test
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63799
Sample Questions
Q1) The variance extraction technique that creates nullified scores removes sources of variability that are due to _____.
A)individual differences
B)confounding variables
C)the dependent variable
D)all of these
Q2) If the sample size is less than 15,the correlated groups t test may show inflated Type I errors for data that are markedly skewed.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Based on the Method of Presentation section of Chapter 11,suppose a researcher is reporting the results of a correlated groups t test.If she obtained a t value of 2.17 with 10 subjects in each group using an alpha level of .05 and a nondirectional test,how would she report this in a psychological journal?
A)t (9)= 2.17,p < .05
B)t (9)= 2.17,p > .05
C)t (18)= 2.17,p < .05
D)t (18)= 2.17,p > .05
Q4) Discuss the robustness of the correlated groups t test.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 14
Chapter 13: One-Way Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
140 Verified Questions
140 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63798
Sample Questions
Q1) For an alpha level of .05,the critical value of F with 2 and 8 degrees of freedom is 4.46;therefore,we ______the null hypothesis with an F value equal to that found in Question 20 and conclude that _____ between treatments and the dependent variable.
A)reject;no relationship exists
B)fail to reject;no relationship exists
C)reject;a relationship exists
D)fail to reject;a relationship exists
Q2) The main function of the sum of squares across subjects is to remove variability due to individual differences from the independent variable so that a more sensitive test of the relationship between the independent and dependent variables can be performed.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The F test is robust to violations of the _____ assumption.
A)independent sampling
B)random sampling
C)sphericity
D)normality
Q4) What does the mean square subjects contribute to the F test?
Page 15
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 14: Pearson Correlation and Regression: Inferential Aspects
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
143 Verified Questions
143 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63797
Sample Questions
Q1) The ability to make a causal inference between two variables is a function of the
A)level of measurement of the variables
B)precision of measurement of the DV
C)research design
D)statistical technique used to analyze the data
Q2) The assumption of bivariate normality refers to
A)the variances of the Y scores being equal at every value of X in the population.
B)the sample being independently and randomly selected from the population.
C)the population distributions of X and Y each being normal in shape.
D)the requirement that the distribution of Y scores be normal in the population at every value of X.
Q3) The slope indicates the number of units Y is predicted to change given a one unit change in X.
A)True
B)False
Q4) r<sup>2</sup> is formally known as the coefficient of indetermination.
A)True
B)False
Page 16
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 15: Chi-Square Test
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
145 Verified Questions
145 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63796
Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss the sampling distribution of the chi-square statistic and the chi-square distribution.
Q2) As the discrepancy between the observed and expected frequencies becomes larger,the magnitude of the chi-square statistic ______.
A)decreases
B)does not change
C)increases
D)increases by a factor of the square of the difference
Q3) The chi-square test is a nonparametric test designed to analyze relationships between variables using what type of information?
A)mean
B)frequencies
C)standard deviation
D)mode
Q4) Because the chi-square test is typically used to analyze the relationship between two qualitative variables,it cannot be used when one or both variables are quantitative.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 16: Nonparametric Statistics
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63795
Sample Questions
Q1) Extreme values might prove to be problematic for parametric analyses,but they pose no particular problem for many nonparametric analyses.Because of this property,nonparametric tests are often said to be:
A)robust
B)corrected
C)outlier sensitive
D)outlier resistant
Q2) Friedman analysis of variance by ranks involves first rank ordering the means for each experimental group.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Following a significant Mann-Whitney U test,the strength of the relationship between two variables may be measured using ____.
A)Glass rank biserial correlation coefficient
B)matched-pairs rank biserial correlation coefficient
C)epsilon-squared
D)Dunn's procedure
Q4) Under what conditions is the Spearman rank-order correlation used to analyze the relationship between two variables?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 18
Chapter 17: Two-Way Between-Subjects Analysis of Variance
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
117 Verified Questions
117 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63794
Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss the analysis of main effects in terms of the nature of the relationship in two-way analysis of variance.
Q2) Not only do factorial designs allow us to assess the interaction between the two independent variables,but they also "remove" the individual and joint effects of these variables from the:
A)between-group variability
B)F ratio
C)within-group variability
D)sum of squares total
Q3) As a general rule,a summary table is not needed in two-way between-subjects analysis of variance.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Two-way factorial designs allow us to study:
A)main effects
B)interaction effects
C)a and b
Q5) The manner in which we choose to state an interaction is arbitrary. A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 19
Chapter 18: Overview and Extension: Statistical Tests for More Complex Designs
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
124 Verified Questions
124 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/63793
Sample Questions
Q1) If both variables are qualitative,but one or both are within-subjects in nature,the appropriate method of data analysis is the chi square test as discussed in Chapter 15..
A)True
B)False
Q2) Hana is measuring the effects of 3 does of estrogen on mood changes in women.She has 3 groups of subjects (control,3mg and 5mg group).After subjects are randomly divided into groups and administered estrogen or placebo their moods were evaluated with a mood questionnaire.What statistical test should he use?
Q3) Analysis of variance is rarely used in the behavioral sciences.
A)True
B)False
Q4) If a dependent variable turns out to be highly skewed,then it might be decided to focus on a _____ rather than a _____ to analyze the relationship between two variables.
A)mean;median
B)median;mean
C)mean;mode
D)mode;Pearson correlation
Page 20
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.