Question 1

What is the first step in analyzing quantitative data?
A) Determine if research involves descriptive analysis or hypothesis testing.
B) Evaluate findings to assess whether they are meaningful.
C) Review conceptual framework and relationships to be studied.
D) Conduct analysis.
E) Prepare data for analysis.

Accepted Answer

C

Question 2

All of the following are typical tasks involved with data preparation EXCEPT:
A) editing
B) dealing with missing data
C) coding
D) transforming the data
E) calculating the mean

Accepted Answer

Calculating the mean is not a task involved in data preparation. The other tasks (editing, dealing with missing data, coding, transforming the data) are all common steps in preparing data for analysis.

Question 3

Before questionnaire data can be used, it must be ____, which involves inspecting it for completeness and consistency, checking to see if respondents understood the question or followed a particular sequence they were supposed to in a branching question, and/or eliminating questionnaires due to missing data or responses on screening questions.
A) prepared
B) edited
C) transformed
D) entered
E) coded

Accepted Answer

Questionnaire data needs to be edited before it can be used effectively. This involves inspecting the data for completeness and consistency, checking if respondents understood the questions or followed a particular sequence in a branching question, and eliminating questionnaires due to missing data or responses on screening questions. The other options are also important steps in data processing, but they occur after editing.

Question 4

Blair collected data for her doctoral dissertation, and before she analyzes it to test her hypotheses, she must inspect it for completeness and consistency. She will need to eliminate some questionnaires due to missing data or based on how some respondents answers the screening questions regarding whether or not they use the product category in her study. Which task in the data preparation stage is Blair conducting?
A) preparation
B) coding
C) entering
D) editing
E) screening

Accepted Answer

Blair is conducting the task of editing in the data preparation stage. This involves checking and correcting the data for completeness, consistency, and accuracy to ensure that it is ready for analysis. In this case, she needs to eliminate incomplete or inconsistent questionnaires before proceeding with the analysis.

Question 5

All of the following are activities performed when editing questionnaire data EXCEPT _____.
A) inspecting the data for completeness and consistency
B) checking to see if respondents understood the question
C) checking to see if respondents followed a particular sequence they were supposed to in a branching question
D) eliminating questionnaires dues to missing data or responses on screening questions
E) assigning numbers to particular responses

Accepted Answer

Assigning numbers to particular responses is not an activity performed when editing questionnaire data. The other activities listed (inspecting data for completeness and consistency, checking for comprehension, checking for proper sequencing, and eliminating incomplete questionnaires) are all typical steps in the editing process.

Question 6

Which is an approach for dealing with missing data?
A) for metric variables, estimate the missing values by substituting the mean
B) for nonmetric variables, estimate the missing values by substituting the mean
C) for metric variables, estimate the missing values by substituting the standard deviation
D) for nonmetric variables, estimate the missing values by substituting the standard deviation
E) for metric or nonmetric variables, estimate the missing values by substituting the kurtosis

Accepted Answer

For metric variables, it is appropriate to estimate the missing values by substituting the mean. This is because the mean represents the central tendency of the data and does not change the overall distribution of the data. Substituting the standard deviation or kurtosis would not be appropriate as these measures are based on the variability and shape of the data, respectively, and would change the distribution of the data. For nonmetric variables, other approaches such as using mode or imputation techniques may be more appropriate.

Question 7

One approach to dealing with missing data is to identify the respondents and variables that have a large proportion of missing data points. Which percentage is considered the cutoff for this decision?
A) 2 percent or more
B) 8 percent or more
C) 15 percent or more
D) 25 percent or more
E) 50 percent or more

Accepted Answer

There is no hard and fast rule for determining the cutoff for identifying respondents and variables with a large proportion of missing data points. However, a commonly used threshold is 15 percent or more missing data points. This is because a large proportion of missing data can have a significant impact on the accuracy and representativeness of the results. Therefore, it is important to identify these cases and determine the best approach for handling the missing data.

Question 8

Louis is assigning a number to a particular response so the answer can be entered into a database. He assigns a 5 for "strongly agree" and a 1 for "strongly disagree," and the points in between get assigned 2, 3, or 4. Louis is _____.
A) analyzing the data
B) coding
C) developing the frequency distribution
D) measuring the kurtosis
E) calculating the mean

Accepted Answer

Louis is assigning numerical codes to the responses, which is known as coding.

Question 9

Why is it recommended to use "0" or "1" to code a two-category variable, such as gender?
A) because one category is not important
B) because it enables greater flexibility in data analysis
C) because computers can only understand "0's" or "1's"
D) because it minimizes the chance for errors
E) because it makes it easier to interpret the results of data analyses

Accepted Answer

Using "0" and "1" to code a two-category variable allows for greater flexibility in data analysis, particularly in statistical modeling and machine learning, where binary coding is often required.

Question 10

How are missing values typically represented?
A) with a zero (0)
B) with a dot (.)
C) with a comma (,)
D) with an asterisk (*)
E) with an exclamation mark (!)

Accepted Answer

Missing values are typically represented with a dot (.), also known as a period or a point. Using other symbols such as a zero or an asterisk may lead to confusion and affect the accuracy of data analysis.

Question 11

_____is the process of changing the original form of data to a new format.
A) Data transformation
B) Coding
C) Data preparation
D) Data analysis
E) Frequency distribution

Accepted Answer

Data transformation refers to the process of converting data from one format to another. This may involve changing the structure of the data, such as converting from a row-based format to a column-based format, or changing the way that the data is encoded or represented. Data transformation is a key step in preparing data for analysis, as it allows analysts to work with the data in a format that is more suitable for their needs. Coding, data preparation, data analysis, and frequency distribution are all important parts of the data analysis process, but they are not specifically related to data transformation.

Question 12

Clarence has some questions on his questionnaire that are negatively worded. Thus, on these questions that have 5-point scales, he changes a 5 to a 1, 4 to a 2, 2 to a 4, and 1 to a 5, leaving the 3 responses alone. Clarence is _____.
A) reverse coding responses
B) filling in missing data
C) developing the frequency distribution
D) back coding responses
E) dummy-coding responses

Accepted Answer

Clarence is reverse coding responses, meaning he is reversing the scoring on certain questions to account for negatively worded items.

Question 13

Combining the scores (raw data) for several statements on a questionnaire into a single score by adding the scores together results in a(n) _____.
A) kurtosis score
B) summated score
C) average summated score
D) model score
E) average score

Accepted Answer

Adding the scores together to create a single score is called a summated score or summative scale.

Question 14

The _____ involves calculating the summated score and then dividing it by the number of variables.
A) median
B) mode
C) standard error of the mean
D) average summated score
E) skewness

Accepted Answer

The process described in the question is referring to finding the mean or average summated score, which is calculated by adding up all the scores and then dividing by the number of variables. The other options listed (median, mode, standard error of the mean, skewness) do not involve this particular calculation.

Question 15

_____ examine the data one variable at a time and provide counts of the different responses for the various values of the variable.
A) Data counts
B) Single counts
C) Variable counts
D) Variable distributions
E) Frequency distributions

Accepted Answer

Frequency distributions examine the data one variable at a time and provide counts of the different responses for the various values of the variable.

Question 16

Fred needs a tool to display the counts for a given variable, one that will allow him to "eye-ball" check the data to easily determine the amount of non-response, and one that will allow him to see if there are any outliers. Fred should _____.
A) develop a pie chart
B) calculate the mean
C) calculate the mode
D) calculate the median
E) calculate the frequency distribution

Accepted Answer

Calculating the frequency distribution will display the counts for a given variable, allowing Fred to easily determine the amount of non-response and see if there are any outliers.

Question 17

A vertical bar chart, or _____, can be constructed from the information in the frequency distribution. The shape of the actual data as presented in this visual display can be compared to the expected shape.
A) histogram
B) normal distribution
C) box plot
D) whisker plot
E) dispersion plot

Accepted Answer

A vertical bar chart, also known as a histogram, is the best choice for presenting the frequency distribution in a visual display. The shape of the data can be easily compared to the expected shape using this type of chart. The other options listed are not appropriate for displaying a frequency distribution in this way.

Question 18

_____ show the data in the form of bars that can be displayed either horizontally or vertically and are very useful for showing both absolute and relative magnitudes and for comparing differences.
A) Pie charts
B) Box plots
C) Whisker plots
D) Dispersion plots
E) Bar charts

Accepted Answer

Bar charts are specifically designed to display data in the form of bars that can be displayed either horizontally or vertically, and are useful for showing both absolute and relative magnitudes and for comparing differences. Pie charts are used to show parts of a whole, while box plots, whisker plots, and dispersion plots are used to show statistical distributions and measures of central tendency.

Question 19

A _____ displays relative proportions of the responses.
A) pie chart
B) box plot
C) whisker plot
D) dispersion plot
E) bar chart

Accepted Answer

A pie chart is specifically designed to display relative proportions of different categories or responses. It is a very effective way to show how different parts contribute to the whole.

Question 20

Zeke wants to visually show the relative proportions of each response to the question "How often do you eat in the company cafeteria?" that was on the questionnaire for his research study. The most appropriate visual display method would be for him to use a _____.
A) box plot
B) pie chart
C) whisker plot
D) dispersion plot
E) histogram

Accepted Answer

A pie chart is the best choice to visually show the relative proportions of each response to a categorical variable, such as the frequency of eating in the company cafeteria. A pie chart also makes it easy to compare the sizes of each category and see which category is the largest or smallest. Box plots, whisker plots, and histograms are better suited for continuous variables, while dispersion plots are better suited for showing the relationship between two continuous variables.

Quiz 12: Basic Data Analysis for Quantitative Research

What is the first step in analyzing quantitative data?

All of the following are typical tasks involved with data preparation EXCEPT:

All of the following are activities performed when editing questionnaire data EXCEPT _____.

Which is an approach for dealing with missing data?

One approach to dealing with missing data is to identify the respondents and variables that have a large proportion of missing data points. Which percentage is considered the cutoff for this decision?

Louis is assigning a number to a particular response so the answer can be entered into a database. He assigns a 5 for "strongly agree" and a 1 for "strongly disagree," and the points in between get assigned 2, 3, or 4. Louis is _____.

Why is it recommended to use "0" or "1" to code a two-category variable, such as gender?

How are missing values typically represented?

_____is the process of changing the original form of data to a new format.

Clarence has some questions on his questionnaire that are negatively worded. Thus, on these questions that have 5-point scales, he changes a 5 to a 1, 4 to a 2, 2 to a 4, and 1 to a 5, leaving the 3 responses alone. Clarence is _____.

Combining the scores (raw data) for several statements on a questionnaire into a single score by adding the scores together results in a(n) _____.

The _____ involves calculating the summated score and then dividing it by the number of variables.

_____ examine the data one variable at a time and provide counts of the different responses for the various values of the variable.

Fred needs a tool to display the counts for a given variable, one that will allow him to "eye-ball" check the data to easily determine the amount of non-response, and one that will allow him to see if there are any outliers. Fred should _____.

A vertical bar chart, or _____, can be constructed from the information in the frequency distribution. The shape of the actual data as presented in this visual display can be compared to the expected shape.

_____ show the data in the form of bars that can be displayed either horizontally or vertically and are very useful for showing both absolute and relative magnitudes and for comparing differences.

A _____ displays relative proportions of the responses.

Zeke wants to visually show the relative proportions of each response to the question "How often do you eat in the company cafeteria?" that was on the questionnaire for his research study. The most appropriate visual display method would be for him to use a _____.