Assignment 1                                      DUE August 18

The file you will need for this and the other assignments is the file GSS2002PFP_.SAV on the CD-ROM that comes with your book.

Part 1.

Take a variable that you find interesting. (Your CD-ROM provides a “Complete Data Index” that describes all the variables.)

Get the frequency distribution. (Use Analyze à Descriptive Statistics à Frequencies.) Explain what the numbers mean and explain why anyone should care.

Part 2.

Take the variable FECHLD  (the respondent’s opinion about the statement that if the mother works that does not hurt the child). Run a frequency.

Then make sure that you have the data martix window in the front. Then using Transform à Recode à Into Different Variables) recode it so that it has only two non-missing categories: 0= Strongly Disagree or Disagree and 1= Strongly Agree or Agree. Recode the missing values into “System-missing.” (Hint: see your SPSS Appendix on your CD-ROM.) Name this new variable NEW.

Using Data à Define Variable give NEW labels. Give it a variable label that describes it and two value labels that describe the two values.

Run a frequency for NEW.

What percent of the sample thinks that if the mother works the child suffers? Is your own opinion in line with how the majority thinks?

Part 3.

Is there a relationship between the size of the family they grow up in and the size they would like for their own family? 

Take the variables CHLDIDEL (the ideal number of children according to the respondent) and SIBS (the number of brothers and sisters the respondent has).

Run a frequency for both. You will see that CHLDIDEL takes the value 8 for the answer “AS MANY AS WANT.” We don’t know what this means exactly, so recode it to missing.

Obtain the following statistics: the three central tendency measures (mean, median, mode), the quartiles, the variance, the standard deviation, minimum and maximum, and skewness. (Hint: Analyze à Descriptive Statistics à Frequencies à Statistics.)

Are the central tendency measures similar for the two? Explain.

What can you say based on the measures of variation?

What does the skewness tell you?

Compute the difference between the two by subtracting SIBS from CHILDIDEL. (Hint: you need to have the data martix window in the front and click on Transform à Compute.) Name this new variable DIFF.

Run a frequency for DIFF. What do you see? If someone would like to exactly reproduce his/her family size, what value would he/she get on DIFF?  What is the meaning of this new variable and what can you conclude?

Using Analyze à Descriptive Statistics à Descriptives obtain the mean for DIFF. Explain.

Part 4.

In this last part you will be using a the same data set but a different set of variables. Answer the following questions:

Which national problem is perceived as the most urgent by the public judged by the willingness to spend more money on it. Use the variables NATCITY, NATCRIME, NATEDUC, NATENVIR, NATFARE, NATHEAL, NATRACE to answer this question. Are you surprised?

Hand in your answers and your output.

 Please be sure to present your responses in an organized, clear, grammatically correct, paragraph format (i.e. no sentence fragments, bullets, etc.).  Be sure to proof read, spell check, and make appropriate paragraph breaks when necessary.

All homework must be handed in typewritten.  Please use an 11-12 point font, double-space and number each page.