Social Studies 201

Fall 2003

Problem Set 1

Due Friday, September 19

1. Attached is a photocopy of the article “Many students at debt’s door,” written by Anne Kyle and published in the Regina Leader-Post, August 13, 2003, p. B1. In the article, various spokespersons make claims about student and University of Regina finances. In a paragraph or two, comment on the claims using concepts concerning data production in sections 2.3 through 2.6 of Chapter 2 of the text. In terms of the type of data that might shed light on the claims, you may also wish to refer to questions in the Survey of Student Attitudes and Experiences Fall 1998.

2. Use the questionnaire of the Survey of Student Attitudes and Experiences Fall 1998 for this question. For each of questions 34, 45 (first of the four blanks), 46, 51 (first question on studying, etc.), and 55 in the questionnaire, (i) clearly identify or name the variable in the question. (ii) For each variable state the highest level of measurement the variable has (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio) and, in a sentence, explain your reasoning. (iii) For each variable, also explain whether the variable is discrete or continuous.

3. The data in Table 1 represent the ages, in years, of seventy-one respondents in a sample of Regina adults who are immigrants to Canada. The data come from a study, “Factors Related to the Economic Integration of Immigrant Households in Canadian Society,” conducted by members of the Department of Sociology and Social Studies, beginning in 1998. Present an (i) unordered and (ii) ordered stem and leaf display. From these construct (iii) a table showing the frequency distribution of age and (iv) a histogram of the distribution of age. (v) In words, briefly describe the distribution of age.

4. 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: time use (1998), conducted by Statistics Canada. Table 2 gives the number of respondents who stated each response, for respondents less than age 45 and for respondents aged 45 plus. Use these data to construct histograms of the distribution of number of times per year each set of respondents feels rushed. In words, briefly describe similarities and differences between the two distributions.

Table 1. Ages of seventy-one respondents

25	42	33	49	45	37
55	49	50	44	42	43
39	72	33	36	49	40
21	21	38	32	47	31
42	51	38	29	42	43
21	18	49	26	27	55
45	48	41	44	33	29
35	25	39	43	54	63
44	37	31	41	43	22
36	36	22	30	36	31
29	26	35	25	36	37
42	51	28	52	43

Table 2. Frequency distribution for responses to the question

“How often do you feel rushed?”

Number of times per year respondent feels rushed	Number of respondents by age
	Under age 45	Age 45 plus
Never (0)	2	69
Less than once a month (1-10)	8	54
Once a month (10-20)	15	23
Once a week (20-80)	39	40
Few times per week (80-300)	118	61
Every day (300-365)	173	105
Total	355	352

Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, Cycle 12: time use (1998).