Homework 1

Work on the following problem set and show your works within the document. Use SPSS as much as possible.

Chapter 1

1. What types of activities other than “calculations” and “math” are associated with the practice of statistics?

2. Define the term measurement.

3. List the three main measurement scales addressed in this chapter.

4. What type of measurement assigns a name to each observation?

5. What type of measurement is based on categories that can be put in rank order?

6. What type of measurement assigns a numerical value that permits for meaningful mathematical operations for each observation?

7. What does GIGO stand for?

8. Provide synonyms for categorical data.

9. Provide synonyms for quantitative data.

10. What is the difference between imprecision and bias

11. How is imprecision quantified?

Chapter 2

1. Controlled-release morphine in patients with chronic cancer pain. Warfield reviewed 10 studies comparing the effectiveness of controlled-release and immediate-release morphine in cancer patients with chronic pain. The studies that were reviewed were double blinded. How would you double blind such studies?

2. What is the general goal of a statistical survey?

3. What is the general goal of a comparative statistical study?

4. What is the key distinction between experimental studies and observational studies?

5. Campus survey. A researcher conducts a survey to learn about the sexual behavior of college students on a particular campus. A list of the undergraduates at the university is used to select participants. The investigator sends out 500 surveys but only 136 are returned.

a. Consider how the low response rate could bias the results of this study.

b. Speculate on potential limitations in the quality of information the researcher will receive on questionnaires that are returned.

6. A study seeks to determine the effect of postmenopausal hormone use on mortality. What is the explanatory variable in this study? What is the response variable?

7. MRFIT. The MRFIT study discussed in an earlier illustrative example studied 12,866 high-risk men between 35 and 57 years of age. Approximately half the study subjects were randomly assigned to a special care group; the other half received their usual source of care. Death from coronary disease was monitored over the next seven or so years. Outline this study’s design in schematic form.

8. Five-City Project. The Stanford Five-City Project is a comprehensive community health education study of five moderately sized Northern California towns. Multiple-risk factor intervention strategies were randomly applied to two of the communities. The other three cities served as controls. Outline the design of this study in schematic form.

By applying factors in combination, experiments can study more than one factor at a time.