Social
Studies 201
First
Midterm Examination
1:30-2:20 p.m., Monday, February 5, 2001
Answer any three (3) questions. Each question has equal value.
1. a. Averages. Explain which concept of average (mode, median, or mean) appears to be used or implied in each of the following quotes.
Average student debt in Saskatchewan is approximately $12,000, which is below the national average. The Carillon, January 25, 2001, p. 3.
Services in smaller, isolated communities – about two-thirds of Canada’s 630 First Nations – are “much less than what Canadians enjoy as an average.” The Leader-Post, January 6, 2001, p. A1.
An international comparison show’s Canada’s teenage pregnancy rate as middling among those of industrial nations. National Post, October 20, 2000, p. A4.
b. Variation. A commentator examining Table 1, argues that support for the Alliance varied a lot between 1997 and 2001, whereas support for the Bloc Quebecois was very stable over the same period. What does this comment and the data in Table 1 imply about the measures of variation for each of these two political parties? (Do not carry out any calculations unless you have time, but explain in words).
2. Political Preference. Use the data in Table 1 to calculate the mean, standard deviation, and coefficient of relative variation of per cent support for the Liberals and for the NDP over this period. In a sentence or two, explain the results in words.
Table 1. Federal Parties’ Popular Support, Canada, 1997-2000
|
Political Party Supported |
Per Cent Support for Each Party at Various Dates |
||||||
|
June 1997 |
June 1998 |
May 1999 |
July 2000 |
Early September 2000 |
Late September 2000 |
Early October 2000 |
|
|
Conservative |
19 |
15 |
13 |
10 |
8 |
9 |
8 |
|
Liberal |
38 |
49 |
49 |
45 |
45 |
44 |
52 |
|
NDP |
11 |
11 |
12 |
11 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
|
Alliance |
19 |
14 |
14 |
24 |
25 |
25 |
20 |
|
Bloc Québecois |
11 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
11 |
10 |
10 |
|
Other |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
Source: The Globe and Mail, October 17, 2000, p. A7.
3. Time Squeeze. Table 2 contains the responses of 707 Saskatchewan respondents to the question, “How often do you feel rushed?” These responses come from the General Social Survey, Cycle 12, conducted by Statistics Canada. Table 2 gives the actual number of respondents and the percentage of respondents with each response for respondents less than age 45 and for respondents aged 45 plus. Use these data to answer the following.
a. Obtain the 80th percentile of number of times respondent feels rushed for each of the two age groups. (Do not attempt to interpolate).
b. Compute the mean number of times felt rushed for each of the two age groups using the numbers in brackets in the first column.
c. In a sentence or two, compare the distributions.
Table 2. Responses to Question, “How often do you feel rushed?”
|
How often respondent feels rushed |
Number and Per Cent Who Feel Rushed, by Age |
|||
|
Under Age 45 |
Age 45 Plus |
|||
|
Number |
Per Cent |
Number |
Per Cent |
|
|
Every day (365) |
173 |
48.7% |
105 |
29.9% |
|
Few times per week (152) |
118 |
33.2% |
61 |
17.3% |
|
Once a week (52) |
39 |
11.0% |
40 |
11.4% |
|
Once a month (12) |
15 |
4.2% |
23 |
6.5% |
|
Less than once a month (6) |
8 |
2.3% |
54 |
15.3% |
|
Never (0) |
2 |
0.6% |
69 |
19.6% |
|
Total |
355 |
100.0% |
352 |
100.0% |
Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, Cycle 12: time use (1998).
4.
Graduating Students Survey. The two attached tables – Table 9 and Table
27 – come from PRA Inc., Graduating
Students Survey 2000: University of Regina, published in June, 2000. Use these tables to answer the following.
a. What type of scale (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) do each of the following appear to have? Explain and comment on any problems you note concerning how these scales are used.
Time to complete degree in Table 9.
Average Rating in Table 27.
b. In Table 9, check the means for “All Students” and “Regina” using the values 1 through 5 for each of one through five years taken to complete degree. What appears to be the problem with the published data?
5. Blishen Scores. In Canada, sociologists sometimes rank the occupations of people by computing their Blishen score – a combination of education and income of the occupation in which they work. Occupations with high Blishen scores generally require high levels of education and have high incomes; occupation with low Blishen scores generally require less education and have lower incomes. Table 3 provides data on the Blishen scores for 433 Saskatchewan respondents to Cycle 12 of the General Social Survey. Use this table to answer the following.
a. Calculate the mean and standard deviation of Blishen scores.
b. Calculate the interquartile range of Blishen scores.
c. Using the statistics in a. and b. and the data in Table 3, in words briefly describe the distribution of Blishen scores.
Table 3. Per Cent Distribution of Blishen Scores for 433 Saskatchewan Respondents
|
Blishen Score |
Per Cent of Respondents |
|
15-25 |
12.9 |
|
25-35 |
35.3 |
|
35-45 |
18.7 |
|
45-55 |
13.4 |
|
55-65 |
14.8 |
|
65-95 |
4.9 |
Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, Cycle 12: time use (1998).
6. Graduand Survey. The attached Figure 14 comes from the University of Regina, Second Graduand Survey: A Study of the 1999 Graduating Class. Use this figure to answer the following.
a. What scale of measurement does the variable “Satisfaction with Courses taken” appear to have?
b. What is the mode and median of satisfaction with courses taken for (i) courses taken in own faculty and (ii) courses taken in other faculties?
c. Explain which of the two distributions is less varied.