Overview
This assignment has three parts. They involve making a table and a graph and interpreting them.All parts of this assignment must be submitted together in order in one document file (see allowable file types). You may construct the table and graph using software like Excel or neatly draw them by hand. If you generate any piece outside of your one document file, to earn points for it you must paste that piece (or the image of it) into the document file appropriately oriented, located, and sized (including upright, under the correct heading, well cropped, and at a text size and level of clarity that makes it easy to read but does not overflow the page). Difficult to read portions of a submission cannot earn points. Separate files and image files are not accepted.
Part 1 - Table with cross-tabulated frequencies (including totals) for two variables (bivariate table)
You have some choices in the data you will use in the table. To help you select your data:
- First, to select your dependent variable (DV), choose one of the questions highlighted in yellow in this document (File attached, named Practice 02b DATA file with cross tabulated date for countries and the DV's highlighted in questionnaire) In order to avoid problems later, especially with interpretation, read carefully to ensure you understand the question and what the answers indicate.
- Second, look in this data file (file attached, named Practice 02b Questionnaire with FULL TEXT OF QUESTIONS for All Variables - see highlighted questions) and find the same question number. Pick two or more of the countries that have data from that question you chose from the questionnaire. Everyone must use country as their independent variable (IV), but you are choosing which countries to include.
Then, once you have selected your data, construct a bivariate table showing the cross-tabulated ***frequencies*** for each value of your IV and each value of your DV and all totals or marginals. You may include the percentages if you wish, the same ones used in your graph (percentages within the values of the independent variable country, see below), but you are not required to. This table will help you calculate the percentages for your graph. I have already prepared most of what you need and put it in the data file, but you will have to take that information and make some changes or additions to complete it
Part 2 - Graph of Percentages - Based on data From Part 1
Construct one graph (not two) that clearly and appropriately displays the ***percentages*** within each country for each value of your dependent variable (not independent variable). This will allow you to compare your two countries in Part 3. Use the frequencies from Part 1 to help you calculate the percentages.
Make sure your choice of graph type is appropriate for the levels of measurement of your variables and for displaying data for both countries. Include a title and any other necessary labels appropriate for the graph type in order to make it clear what each part of the graph represents.
For the final step after calculating your percentages, I suggest rounding to one decimal place (0.1), but anything between one to four decimal places is acceptable. Write your percentages on the graph so that if the graph does not otherwise make them clear enough, you still have a way to earn partial credit.
Part 3 - Interpretation of Percentages and Graph
In two to four sentences, state what this graph and the percentages it displays tell you about these variables. In these sentences, focus on the following information.
- Whether these countries are more similar or different regarding your chosen dependent variable
- What in the data indicates this (how you know)
- What that means in the context of this specific dependent variable
- To make sure you are interpreting the variable correctly, it is important to refer to the question in the questionnaire (above in Part 1) that was used to collect data for that variable.