Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion with SPSS
The statistics for this week become the basis for several other tests you may do. These are the foundational concepts of statistics.
To prepare for this Application:
- Review Chapter 15 and Appendix E in the course text Research Methods in the Social Sciences.
- Review the video programs for this week, located in the Learning Resources.
- Review Lessons 20 and 21 in the course text Using SPSS for Windows and Macintosh: Analyzing and Understanding Data.
- Access the gss04student_corrected dataset in the Course Information area of the classroom to use for this Application.
- Select one variable that is measured as a continuous or metric variable (age, Likert scale item, etc.) and one that is measured on a nominal scale (marital status, ethnicity, etc.).
The assignment:
- Using the data set and variables you have selected, use SPSS to calculate the following:
- Mean
- Median
- Mode
- Range
- Minimum
- Maximum
- Standard deviation
- Generate syntax and output files in SPSS. You will need to copy and paste these into your Application document.
- Use one kind of chart (any kind) to describe the data
- Based on your SPSS analysis, craft a one page brief of the statistical results (include any additional pages needed for any APA tables or graphs and the SPSS syntax and output). Your report should include: SPSS syntax and output files
Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Nachmias, D. (2008).Research methods in the social sciences (7th ed.). New York: Worth.
Green, S. B., & Salkind, N. J. (2014). Using SPSS for Windows and Macintosh: Analyzing and understanding data (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.