Title: Self test: Measures of central tendency using software
Course: UGQuants (SSPS) > Section: Univariate Analysis

Exercise 1

From the WDI2011 data set: What is the mean number of telephone lines per 1,000 people for countries of the world ('phone')?

From the WDI2011 data set: What is the mean rate of people living on $1.25  or less a day for countries of the world ('dollday')?

From the WDI2011 data set: What is the median rate of people with access to improved water sources ('water')?

From the European Social Survey round 5 (practice data set): What is the median amount of time spent watching television (‘tvtot’) on an average weekday?

From the European Social Survey round 5 (practice data set): What is the mode for whether someone voted at the last election (‘vote’)?

Exercise 1: Answer

The mean number of telephone lines per 1,000 people for countries of the world ('phone') is 20.

The mean rate of people living on $1.25  or less a day for countries of the world ('dollday') is 17.5%.

The median rate of people with access to improved water sources ('water') is 95%.

The median amount of time spent watching television (‘tvtot’) on an average weekday is category 6 - "More than 2,5 hours, up to 3 hours".

The mode for whether someone voted at the last election (‘vote’) is 1 - the group of voters contained more respondents than any of the other categories.

Exercise 2

From the WDI 2011 data set: What is the standard deviation of number of hospital beds per 1,000 people for countries of the world?

From the WDI 2011 data set: What is the standard deviation of the rate of people living on $1.25  or less a day for countries of the world?

From the WDI 2011 data set: What is the range of total female life expectancy for countries of the world?

From the WDI 2011 data set: What is the interquartile range of the percentage of parliamentary representatives who are female (‘femparl’) for countries of the world?

From the European Social Survey round 5 (practice data set): What is the 25th percentile for total weekly hours normally worked in main job including overtime (‘wkhtot’)?

Exercise 2: answers

The standard deviation of number of hospital beds per 1,000 people for countries of the world is 2.5.

The standard deviation of the rate of people living on $1.25  or less a day for countries of the world is 21.6.

The range of total female life expectancy for countries of the world is 81.29 years.

The interquartile range of the percentage of parliamentary representatives who are female (‘femparl’) for countries of the world is 14.1% (3rd quartile: 24.6%; 1st quartile: 10.5%).

The 20th percentile for total weekly hours normally worked in main job including overtime (‘wkhtot’) is 24 hours.

Exercise 3

Produce a frequency table using the ESS5 practice data set.

How many people disagree with the statement that women should be prepared to cut down on paid work for the sake of the family (‘wmcpwrk’)?

- 91.7%
Feedback: Incorrect
- 206
Feedback: Correct. 157 disagree and 49 even disagree strongly.
- 26.2%
Feedback: Incorrect.

Question 4

In the ESS5 practice dataset, look at the variable 'plnchld'.

How many people plan to have a child within the next 3 years?

- We cannot really say, because too many respondents did not answer this question.
Feedback: Correct!
- 4.3%
Feedback: Incorrect
- 26.9%
Feedback: Incorrect