Examination 1

Directions:
You should write the exam in your word processor and copy/paste the answers into the form once you are finished. Do not submit the exam in parts. Rather, submit the entire exam before the deadline. I will only grade the last version you send.

Respond to each item in a clear and concise paragraph. (In some cases, a single sentence will suffice.) Do not copy passages from the lectures or book. Rather, express your own understanding of the material. Do not write anything or everything that comes to mind; instead, try to devise a brief answer that captures the most relevant information. Before you submit, make a note of the number in the first comment, below. You will need to input this number into the form to submit your work. (This is to prevent spammers from using the form. Sorry about that. Spammers ruin everything.) After you submit, you will be returned to the schedule page.

1. Compare and contrast qualitative and quantitative analysis.

2. Describe how mathematical models are used in social science research.

3. What is the relationship between a statistic and a parameter?

4. How is a random sample different from a convenience sample?

5. Identify one variable in the ANES data frame at each level of measurement.

6. For the one of the variables you selected for question 5, assess the issues of reliability and validity. (Since the ANES codebook doesn't list the exact survey questions, you will have to assess the variable based on the partial information in the codebook, which will require a bit of speculation.)

7. Write R code to recode V161245 (in ANES 2016) into a binary variable. Explain why you selected the two categories you used.

8. What does it mean to refer to percentages as "relative frequencies?"

9. Select two categorical variables from wave 1 of CILS. Construct a crosstabulation. Interpret the result. Include the R code you used to produce the table. (Note: do not copy the table into your answer.)

10. Select one interval variable from one of our datasets. Interpret the central tendency and variablility. Include the R code you used to produce the table. (Note: do not copy the table into your answer.)

11. If we create a variable, named HHinc, with:

What is the difference between the following two lines of code in R?


12. Describe Jacobs' main findings with regard to access to higher education.

13. Summarize the information presented in table 2 in the Jacobs article.

14. What data does Massoni analyze? How did she collect it?

15. Summarize the information presented in table 1 in the Massoni article.

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