Statistics Assignment 1 - Frequency Distributions and SPSS Software Installation

Collecting data from a large number of participants can be a very daunting task. How do researchers make sense of all of that information and summarize it to be more meaningful? One way is by creating frequency distributions, or by visually organizing the number of times each score in a data set occurs. Researchers present the frequency distribution in a table as a way to organize large amounts of data. You will also see frequency distributions displayed graphically, using histograms, bar graphs, or frequency polygons.

This Application will allow you to practice organizing a data set by calculating and describing the frequency, relative frequency, and percent of the number of snacks 30 people eat in a week.

You will also be asked to document that you have installed and tested the SPSS software that you will begin using in Week 2. Be sure to watch this week’s instructional videos in the Resources Folder before beginning your Application Assignment.

Download the Data Table Template found in this week’s Learning Resources and the data set that you will use for this Assignment from the Weekly Data Set forum found in the Discussions area of the course navigation menu. Fill in the cells of the table by listing the frequency of each value from the data set, the relative frequency of each value, and the percent of each value. Your computed relative frequency and percent might not equal exactly 1.0 and 100%, respectively, due to rounding error. Then respond to the five additional questions in the template. Note: Be sure to fully explain how you arrived at your answers and support your responses with evidence from the text and Learning Resources.

Provide an APA reference list.

Explain how you computed the “Frequency of Value” column.

Explain how you computed the “Relative Frequency of Value” column.

Explain how you computed the “Percent of Value” column.

What is the combined relative frequency of the odd-numbered values? Explain your calculation and what the result tells you about thenumber of snacks this sample eats in a week.

What is the cumulative frequency of values falling at or below 5? Explain your calculation and what the result tells you about the number of snacks this sample eats in a week.

Install the SPSS software on your computer using the links and instructions provided in the Required Resources Media section of the Week 1 Learning Resources folder.

Next, watch the SPSS Tutorial: SPSS Overview.

After successfully installing the software and viewing the tutorial, open SPSS and be sure you can type in numbers. It does not matter what you type in, as you are not required to use SPSS for computation this week, but enter some numbers and click around to be sure the software is functioning.

Be sure to contact your instructor immediately if you have any trouble installing or using the SPSS software. You will lose your 5 points if it’s evident that you haven’t installed and tested the software this week and you lose the right to request more time to complete any future Assignments that involve SPSS if you haven’t done the install and / or contacted your instructor immediately to report any issues.

Once you have installed and tested SPSS, type your name in the affidavit section at the bottom of the data table template you used in Part I.