SOCI 420 Final Review

A nominal-level variable like marital status or gender is always A. discrete B. continuous C. ordinal D. dependent

A. discrete

An hypothesis differs from a theory in that A. it is "testable" B. it is true C. it is more speculative D. it is more abstract

A. it is "testable"

Which of the following is NOT a nominal level variable? A. level of education B. zip code C. occupation D. make of auto

A. level of education

Interval-ratio measurements can be all of the following except: A. nominal B. continuous C. discrete D. observable

A. nominal

During which stage does the Wheel of Science begin for a researcher undertaking a new study? A. theory B. hypotheses C. observations D. empirical generalizations

B. hypotheses

A public opinion poll that gauges the popularity of the President of the United States is an example of A. descriptive statistics B. inferential statistics C. analytical statistics D. reductionist statistics

B. inferential statistics

Prejudice, when measured on a scale ranging from 'most prejudiced to 'least prejudice,' is an example of which level of measurement? A. actual B. ordinal C. nominal D. interval-ratio

B. ordinal

When you subtract the value of the mean from each score in a distribution and then add the results, the sum will be a. 0 b. the standard deviation c. the variance d. a positive number

a. 0

The mean score on a final chemistry exam was 75, and the standard deviation of the scores was 5. If the distribution is normal and your score was 70, what percentage of the scores was lower than yours? a. 15.87% b. 30.00% c. 34.13% d. 50.00%

a. 15.87%

The Z score table gives the area between a score and the mean. For a Z score of -100, that area (in percentages) is a. 34.13% b. -34.13% c. 68.26% d. -68.26%

a. 34.13%

If the variance of a distribution is 16, the mean is 12, and the number of cases is 24, the standard deviation is a. 4 b. 6 c. 8 d. 12

a. 4

To select a simple random sample, a researcher needs a. a list of the population and system for selecting cases according to EPSEM b. a list of the sample and a well developed sampling distribution c. a sampling distribution and a table of random numbers d. a parameter and a cluster

a. a list of the population and system for selecting cases according to EPSEM.

The standardized normal distribution (or Z distribution) has a. a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1 b. a mean of 1 and a standard deviation of 0 c. a mean equal to the average of the scores and a standard deviation equal to the mean d. a mean of 1 and a standard deviation of 1

a. a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1

The mean on a standardized test is 100 and the standard deviation is 35. Your score is 65. What percentage of the scores were higher than yours? a. about 84% b. no more than 50% c. about 34% d. about 16%

a. about 84%

To calculate proportion, the number of cases in any category (f) is divided by a. the total number of categories (k) b. the number of cases in all categories (N) c. the cases in that category (f). d. the number of cases in adjacent categories (k-1)

b. the number of cases in all categories (N)

If a Z score is 0, then the value of the corresponding raw score would be a. 0 b. the same as the mean of the empirical distribution c. the same as the standard deviation of the empirical distribution d. probably a negative number

b. the same as the mean of the empirical distribution

Unlike the sample and population distributions, the sampling distribution is a. empirical b. theoretical c. random d. EPSEM

b. theoretical

In comparing a sampling distribution with a population distribution, a. there will always be more variance in the sampling distribution b. there will always be more variance in the population distribution c. as the size of the sample increases the two distributions will become identical d. the two distributions will always be the same

b. there will always be more variance in the population distribution

The second quartile (Q2) is equal in value to a. the mode b. the median c. the mean d. the range

b. the median

Inferential statistics are necessary in social research because A. it may be impossible to find all members of a certain population B. social scientists don't have the time or money to test and entire population C. some of the population might not cooperate D. samples are sometimes accurate representations of the population but can't always be used to generalize

B. social scientists don't have the time or money to test an entire population

"Ninety percent of dorm residents approved a proposed ban on smoking" and "Eight out of ten elderly residents fear victimization" are examples of A. inferential statistics B. univariate descriptive statistics C. multivariate descriptive statistics D. inductive statistics

B. univariate descriptive statistics

Which of the following can be treated as an interval-ratio variable? A. social security number B. zip code C. age D. hair color

C. age

When using interval-ratio data, the distance between the scores is A. always two units B. unequal C. exactly defined D. not always clear

C. exactly defined

A theory differs from an hypothesis in that it is more A. testable B. specific C. general D. concrete

C. general

In terms of the "Wheel of Science", statistics are central to the research process A. only between the theory phase and the hypothesis phase B. only between the hypothesis and observation phase C. only between the observation phase and the empirical generalization phase D. only between the empirical generalization phase and the theory phase

C. only between the observation phase and the empirical generalization phase

In addition to saying that one case is different from another, the ordinal level of measurement allows us to A. put cases in general categories B. measure the distance between high and low C. say that one case is more or less than another D. calculate meaningful averages of variables

C. say that one case is more or less than another

Measures of association allow researchers to quantify the _____________ of a relationship A. strength B. direction C. strength and direction D. causality

C. strength and direction

A discrete variable cannot be A. added B. multiplied C. subdivided D. observed

C. subdivided

At what point in the Wheel of Science does statistics become relevant? A. at the very beginning B. in the middle C. towards the end D. at any point the researcher chooses

C. towards the end

According to the "Wheel of Science," research projects begin A. with theory. B. with data. C. with an hypothesis D. at any stage on the Wheel

D. at any stage on the Wheel

In terms of the Wheel of Science, an hypothesis is derived from ____________ and leads to ____________. A. statistics, observation B. theory, generalizations C. observations, generalizations D. theory, observation

D. theory, observation

The sum of the differences between the scored of a distribution and the mean of the scores is always a. 0 b. 1 c. the same as the number of cases d. none of the above

a. 0

The midpoints of intervals for frequency distributions constricted with interval-ratio variables are found by a. adding the upper and lower class limits for each interval and then dividing by 2 b. multiplying the upper and lower class limits for each interval c. dividing the range by 10 d. none of the above. class intervals for interval-ratio variables do not have midpoints

a. adding the upper and lower class limits for each interval and then dividing by 2

When examining a single categorical variable with emphasis on the differences between two or more categories, it is best to use a a. bar chart b. histogram c. line chart d. none of these choices are correct

a. bar chart

In a box plot, an outlier is defined as a score that is a. greater than 1.5 times the height of the box b. less than 1.5 times the height of the box c. greater than 1.25 times the height of the box d. greater than 0.75 times the height of the box

a. greater than 1.5 times the height of the box

Measures of dispersion indicate the degree to which a set of scores is a. heterogeneous b. ambiguous c. average d. typical

a. heterogeneous

Computation of a mean (or average) is completely justified when a variable is measured at which level? a. interval-ratio b. ordinal c. nominal d. discrete

a. interval-ratio

The sum of the squared deviations around the mean for a distribution of 10 scores is 1000. The standard deviation a. is 10 b. is 100 c. is 1 d. can't be determined from this information

a. is 10

The mode should be used to measure central tendency when the level of measurement of the variable is a. nominal b. ordinal c. interval-ratio d. all of the above

a. nominal

On a test, the numbers used to identify the questions would be __________ in level of measurement while the number of correct responses would be ___________. a. nominal, interval-ratio b. interval-ratio, nominal c. continuous, discrete d. ordinal, nominal

a. nominal, interval-ratio

Pie charts show the frequency distribution of a. one variable b. two variables c. three or more variables d. any of the above

a. one variable

For a single variable measured at the nominal level, an appropriate graph would be a a. pie chart b. histogram c. frequency polygon d. bivariate table

a. pie chart

A _________ is the number of times a phenomena occurs divided by the total possible occurrences a. rate b. frequency distribution c. ratio d. histogram

a. rate

What are the three distributions involved in every application of inferential statistics? a. sample, sampling, and population b. sample, stratification, cluster c. EPSEM, random, probability d. sampling, percentage, normal

a. sample, sampling, and population

A researcher is conducting a study by asking people shopping at a local mall about their opinions on gay marriage. The researcher is using: a. simple random sampling b. cluster sampling c. stratified random sampling d. non probability sampling

a. simple random sampling

A researcher has numbered all 50 states from 1 to 50 and has calculated a mean of 17.43 for the variable "state of birth" a. since the variable is nominal, the mean makes no sense b. since the variable is ordinal, we should treat the value of the mean with great caution c. the variable is interval-ratio and the mean is an appropriate and useful statistic in this case d. since this variable is discrete, the mean should not be computed

a. since the variable is nominal, the mean makes no sense

To compute a median for scores that have been grouped into a frequency distribution, we assume that the scores in each variable are a. spread evenly across the interval b. located at the upper real limit of the variable c. located at the lower stated limit of the interval d. located at the midpoint of the interval

a. spaced evenly across the interval

The standard deviation(s) a. squares the deviations to eliminate minus values b. decreases in value as distributions become more heterogeneous c. does not use all the scored d. is based on the median rather than the mean

a. squares the deviations to eliminate minus values

Your sample size is 1000. It is safe to assume that a. the shape of the sampling distribution of sample means is normal b. the sample is representative of the entire population c. the population distribution is normal d. the sample distribution is normal

a. the shape of the sampling distribution of sample means is normal

If you subtracted the mean from each score in a distribution and added the results, the sum would be a. zero b. less than zero c. a minimum d. the mode

a. zero

To locate the 6th decile, we would first multiple the number of cases (N) by a. .06 b. .60 c. 6.00 d. the value of the median minus ten

b. .60

If a case has a Z score of 2.3, the standard deviation would be a. 4.6 b. 1 c. 0 d. cannot calculate based on this information

b. 1

Distributions of IQ scores are normally distributed because a. the underlying quality being tested- intelligence- is normally distributed b. IQ tests are designed to produce in normal distributions c. there is no cultural bias in the tests d. they reflect the natural distribution of intelligence: human beings are genetically programmed to have an average intelligence of about 100

b. IQ tests are designed to produce in normal distributions

For a single variable at the interval-ratio level, an appropriate graph would be a. a pie chart b. a histogram c. a bivariate table d. none of the above

b. a histogram

When constructing a frequency distribution, the number of class intervals, in general, should be a. more than 20 b. about 10 c. only 2 d. the same as the number of cases

b. about 10

On all normal curves the area between the mean and +- 1 standard deviation will be a. about 34% of the total area b. about 68% of the total area c. 50% of the total area d. 99.9% of the total area

b. about 68% of the total area

Which of the following is a correct description of the income in the US since the 1960s? a. the mean income has risen but the median has fallen b. both the mean and the median have risen but the mean has increased more c. there is a noticeable negative skew in the distribution d. the distribution has grown less variable

b. both the mean and the median have risen but the mean has increased more

If class intervals overlap with one another, there will be issues of a. categories not being exhaustive b. categories not being mutually exclusive c. categories being of unequal size d. all of these choices are correct

b. categories not being mutually exclusive

If a case is randomly selected from a normal distribution, the score of the case will most likely be a. equal to the mean in value b. close to the mean in value c. at least 1 standard deviation above the mean d. at least 1 standard deviation below the mean

b. close to the mean in value

The Z scores of two tests are +1.2 and +1.5. To obtain the area between these scores a. subtract the Z scores and find the area of the difference in the Z score table b. find the area between each score and the mean in the Z score table and then subtract the smaller area from the larger area c. find the area between each score and the mean in the Z score table and then subtract the difference between them from 100% d. find the area beyond each score in the Z score table and subtract the difference between the areas from the mean

b. find the area between each score and the mean in the Z score table and then subtract the smaller area from the larger area

In a positively skewed distribution, the mean is a. equal in value to the median b. greater in value than the median c. less in value than the median d. either a or b, depending on the value of the mode

b. greater in value than the median

The graphical presentation method that uses midpoints rather than real limits is a a. pie chart b. line chart c. histogram d. bar chart

b. line chart

Income distributions almost always have a positive skew (since there are only a very few wealthy people). Therefore, the preferred measure of central tendency for this variable would be the a. mode b. median c. mean d. none of the above

b. median

Nonprobability samples are useful for: a. generalizing findings to a population b. pretesting a larger project c. finding causal relationships. non probability samples are never useful

b. pretesting a larger project

Converting scores into Z scores standardizes the original distribution to units of the a. median b. standard deviation c. mean d. percentage

b. standard deviation

As the standard deviation of a normal distribution increases, the percentage of the area between +- 1 standard deviation will a. increase b. stay the same c. decrease d. become non-symmetrical

b. stay the same

A sampling technique that allows you to ensure proportional representativeness in a sample is a. representative sampling b. stratified sampling c. systematic sampling d. simple sampling

b. stratified sampling

Cumulative frequencies and cumulative percentages allow a researcher to a. be sure the column totals are correct b. tell at a glance how many cases fall above or below a given category c. show the accuracy of his or her findings d. all of the above

b. tell at a glance how many cases fall above or below a given category

The text presents information on the central tendency and dispersion of income in the U.S. dispersion is measured by a. the standard deviation b. the difference between the 20th and 80th percentiles and the difference between the 10th and 95th percentiles c. the range d. the interquartile range

b. the difference between the 20th and 80th percentiles and the difference between the 10th and 95th percentiles

For ordinal level variables, the most appropriate measure of central tendency is generally a. the mode b. the median c. the mean d. none of the above

b. the median

A researcher has calculated the mean for a variable that is ordinal in level of measurement. a. this operation is a violation of level of measurement criterion and the results should be disregarded b. this violation of level of measurement criterion is common and results should be treated with caution c. no violation has occurred, this is a perfectly acceptable application of statistics d. this is a mistake: means should never be calculated for ordinal variables because they are always continuous

b. this violation of level of measurement criterion is common and results should be treated with caution

A Z score of -2.00 indicated a score that lies a. two standard deviation units to the right of the mean b. two standard deviation units to the left of the mean c. 0.5 of one standard deviation unit on each side of the mean d. any of the above are possible, depending on the value of the mean

b. two standard deviations to the left of the mean

To find the area above a positive Z score or below a negative Z score you would a. subtract the value of the Z score from the mean b. use the "Area Beyond Z" column of the Z score table c. add the value of the Z score to the area beyond the mean d. add the area between the Z score and the mean to 100%

b. use the "Area Beyond Z" column of the Z score table

If you subtracted the mean from each score in a distribution, squared the differences, and then added the squared differences, the sum would be a. zero b. less than zero c. a minimum d. a maximum

c. a minimum

Social scientists use inferential statistics to generalize to populations after they have collected a. a representative sample b. all the information possible from the entire population c. an EPSEM sample from the population of interest d. at least 100 cases from all possible populations

c. an EPSEM sample from the population of interest

Boxplots depict a. central tendency b. dispersion c. both central tendency and dispersion d. none of these answer choices are correct

c. both central tendency and dispersion

Open-ended intervals a. are always preferable to unequal intervals b. should never be used in actual research c. can be useful when there are a few very high or very low scored in a distribution d. should only be used with ordinal-level variables

c. can be useful when there are very high or very low scored in a distribution

If a Z score is +1.00, then the value of the corresponding raw score would be a. 0 b. the same as the mean of the empirical distribution c. equal to the mean of the empirical distribution plus one standard deviation d. probably a negative number

c. equal to the mean of the empirical distribution plus one standard deviation

The area between two negative Z scores can be found by a. adding the Z scores and finding the area below the total Z score b. subtracting the Z scores and finding the total area above the total Z score c. finding the area between each Z score and the mean and subtracting the smaller area from the larger d. finding the area between each Z score and the mean and adding the areas

c. finding the area between each Z score and the mean and subtracting the smaller area from the larger

As the distribution of scores becomes more variable, the value of the standard deviation a. decreases b. stays the same c. increases d. becomes unpredictable

c. increases

Histograms and line charts or frequency polygons are used with data measured at the a. nominal level b. ordinal level c. interval-ratio level d. any level

c. interval-ratio level

For variables measured at the interval-ratio level, the preferred measure of central tendency would be the a. mode b. quartile c. mean d. decile

c. mean

When interval-ratio data are badly skewed, the appropriate measure of central tendency is the a. mode b. median c. mean d. first quartile

c. mean

The interquartile range would be an appropriate measure of dispersion for a. nominal level variables b. continuous interval-ratio variables only c. ordinal level variables d. discrete interval-ratio variables only

c. ordinal level variables

As used in the social sciences, probabilities are a type of __________ which can vary from a. percentage, 0 to 1 b. fraction, 0 to 100 c. proportion, 0.00 to 1.00 d. Z score, 0 to infinity

c. proportion, 0.00 to 1.00

Proportions and percentages, ratios and rates are all ways of expressing a. concise distributions of a variable b. data without leaving out any detail c. relative frequencies d. raw frequencies

c. relative frequencies

Unless a sample is ___________, it cannot be used to make accurate generalizations to a population a. very large b. very small c. representative d. stratified

c. representative

The sampling distribution links the _________ to the __________. a. stratified, EPSEM b. statistical, empirical c. sample, population d. empirical, real

c. sample, population

A box plot uses all but which of the following to present dispersion? a. median b. third quartile (Q3) c. standard deviation d. first quartile (Q1)

c. standard deviation

Which of the following correctly described the changing religious affiliation of the US since 1990? a. the percentage of Americans who identify as Protestants has greatly increased b. the percentage of Americans who identify as Protestants has stayed the same c. the percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation has doubled d. the percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation has greatly decreased

c. the percentage of Americans with no religious affiliation has doubled

In a distribution of 150 test scores, the mean grade was an 82 and the standard deviation was 8. If a student scored a 93, what would their equivalent Z score be? a. 1.13 b. -1.38 c. 0.68 d. 1.38

d. 1.38

The area beyond +- 2 standard deviations contains approximately what % of the area under the normal curve? a. 75% b. 50% c. 99% d. 5%

d. 5%

The area between the mean and a Z score of +1.50 is 43.32%. This score is higher than ____________ of the scores in the distribution. a. 43.32% b. 51.50% c. 57.68% d. 93.32%

d. 93.32%

Column c in the normal curve table lists "areas beyond Z". This is the area a. below a positive Z score b. above a negative Z score c. between two positive Z scores d. above a positive Z score

d. above a positive Z score

To obtain the area below a positive Z score or above a negative Z score you would a. subtract the value of the Z score from b. subtract the area in the "Area Beyond Z" column of the Z score table from 50% c. add the value of the Z score to the area d. add the area between the Z score and the mean to 50%

d. add the area between the Z score and the mean to 50%

The Z scores of two test score are -1.17 and +2.38. To find the total area between these two scores a. add the column b areas together b. subtract each score from the mean and divide the result by the standard deviation c. add the column b area to the column c area d. add the column c areas

d. add the column c areas

The area between a negative Z score and a positive Z score can be found by a. subtracting the Z scores from each other b. subtracting each Z score from the mean and adding the results c. adding the Z scored and finding the area in the Z score table for the summed Z scores d. adding the areas between each Z score and the mean

d. adding the areas between each Z score and the mean

A "good" measure of dispersion should a. use all scores in a distribution b. describe the average or typical deviation of the scores c. be easy to calculate and interpret d. all of the above

d. all of the above

When a list of the population does not exist, the probability sampling technique most commonly used is a. simple random b. stratified c. systematic d. cluster

d. cluster

A line chart is also known as a a. pie chart b. line chart c. bar chart d. histogram

d. histogram

Addition and subtraction are completely justified only when variables are a. discrete b. continuous c. ordinal d. interval-ratio

d. interval-ratio

To compute a mean for scores that have been grouped into frequency distribution, we assume that the scores in each interval are a. spread evenly across the interval b. twice the value of the next lower interval c. located at the lower real limit of the interval d. located at the midpoint of the interval

d. located at the midpoint of the interval

Which of the following mathematical operations are permitted with nominally measured variables? a. addition b. subtraction c. division d. none of these choices are correct

d. none of these choices are correct

Which of the following correctly matches the level of measurement of a variable with the preferred measure of central tendency? a. nominal....mean b. ordinal...mode c. interval-ratio...mode d. ordinal...median

d. ordinal...median

Since the 1960s, the income associated with the 80th percentile has _________ and the income associated with the 20th percentile has __________. a. risen, risen b. stayed roughly the same, risen c. fallen, risen d. risen, stayed roughly the same

d. risen, stayed roughly the same

The purpose of univariate descriptive statistics it to a. summarize relationships between many variables. b. display the essential meaning of variables measured at the interval-ratio level. c. combine nominal and discrete variables d. summarize a single variable

d. summarize a single variable

A major limitation for stratified sampling is that a. the samples so selected are not representative. b. it violates the rule of EPSEM c. the samples are non-random d. the exact composition of the population is usually unknown

d. the exact composition of the population is usually unknown

In a campaign debate over the level of prosperity in the state, the incumbent governor says: "average income is $53,000." His opponent responds "the average citizen earns only $38,000." Both statements are true. This is possible because a. the governor is citing the median b. the opponent is using the mode c. the opponent is using the mean d. the governor is using the mean

d. the governor is using the mean

As noted in the text, telemarketers often use a. simple random sampling only b. stratified sampling only c. non-probability sampling only d. the sampling techniques used by social scientists

d. the sampling techniques used by social scientists

The lower limit for the standard deviation is 0; the upper limit is a. the score of the mean b. the score of the median c. a function of the number of cases d. undefined; there is no upper limit

d. undefined; there is no upper limit

A box plot uses what to show the range of scores? a. slices b. bars c. points d. whiskers

d. whiskers

If one has data measured at the interval-ratio level, they can use which measure of central tendency? a. median b. mode c. mean d. you can use any measure on interval-ratio data

d. you can use any measure on interval-ratio data