For questions requiring data analysis using SPSS, select, present, and interpret the key tables, charts, and graphs. Also where appropriate please describe intermediate steps and/or provide brief explanations of your approach . This will help me award partial credit if necessary. For questions requiring written explanations, your answers can be short and to the point. Please do your best to make the answers you hand in as clear as possible. Good luck!

Specific instructions:

To answer the data analysis questions on this exam, use the "housing.sav" dataset. This dataset has information about homes in our area. I will post the dataset with the exam on the "Exam" page of the course website.

In questions 1 and 2 below, when I ask you to test an idea, I am asking for a statistical test. For each test that you choose to conduct, identify the dependent variable and null hypothesis, generate the appropriate statistical output, identify the important p-values, and state in plain language the conclusions you draw about the idea you are testing. If the test requires a regression analysis, in addition to the steps listed above also present a scatterplot, state the regression equation, and identify and interpret the values of R-squared, y-intercept, and slope.

Finally, pick any one of tests that you complete for question 2, and for that test do five additional things: (1) present basic descriptive statistics for each variable involved in the test; (2) present appropriate graphs to display the distribution of each variable visually; (3) determine the number of outliers for each variable. Explain whether the number of outliers is at the expected level for a dataset of this size; (4) identify one important confounding variable that the test has not accounted for; and (5) explain in a sentence or two how not accounting for confounding variables limits the confidence we can have in the conclusions drawn from the test.

Important summary of the exam requirements (from the instructions for each question) :

In completing the exam, you should do a total of six statistical tests in questions 1 & 2. In completing the tests, please be sure to provide all the information requested in the instructions above. In completing question 3, do not use the dataset; simply refer to the text in the question. 2

Scoring is as follows. Each statistical test that you conduct in answer to question 1 is worth 10 points. Each statistical test that you conduct in answer to question 2 is worth 12 points. The additional work that you do for one of the tests on descriptive statistics, graphs, outliers, and confounding variables is worth 15 points (each 3pts). Question 3 is worth 19 points. [Note: If you haven’t already done so, please read the directions on the first page carefully.]

1. (30pts) Use the dataset to test these three ideas about proximity to Metro stations: (1) On average, parking problems are more severe in areas within a mile of Metro stations than they are in areas more than a mile from Metro stations. (2) On average, residences within a mile of Metro stations have lower values than residences located more than a mile from Metro stations. (3) On average, condos are likely to constitute a higher proportion of residences within a mile of Metro stations, while single family homes are likely to constitute a higher proportion of residences more than a mile from Metro stations.
2. (36pts) Use the dataset to test these three ideas about home size: (1) On average, larger houses have higher utility bills than smaller houses. (2) On average, larger houses are worth more than smaller houses. (3) On average, houses near highway access ramps are smaller than houses that are more distant from highway access ramps.
3. (19pts) A researcher surveyed the attitudes of home buyers in our area. The report presenting the results of the research included the following sentence:

"Accounting for home size, construction quality, and other variables, home buyers in Northern Virginia on average appear willing on average to pay a premium of approximately 3 percent to live away from the immediate area surrounding a Metro station (p<0.1)."

Based on your reading of the sentence, (1) identify the unit of analysis, dependent variable, key independent variable, and null hypothesis (3pts); (2) tell whether the researcher rejected or failed to reject the null hypothesis and estimate the researcher’s alpha level (4pts); (3) explain whether, given the variables considered and the results of the test, you would agree or disagree with the researcher’s conclusion (4pts); and (4) identify the type of statistical test that the researcher most likely conducted and briefly explain the basic assumptions for the statistical test you identified (4pts). Finally, (5) discuss how you would determine whether the result in the sentence above is valid suppose you have the dataset used for this research (4pts).

Price: $32.44

Solution: The downloadable solution consists of 15 pages, 1744 words and 13 charts.
Deliverable: Word Document