SUNY College at Buffalo Sociology 301 (Social Statistics)
Homework #2: To be due at the beginning of Chapter 3
Dr. ZHANG Jie

Submit your work on a piece of paper with the homework #, your name, and the date on top of it. The highest possible score for this homework is 10.

Essay Question 1:

What makes the four levels of measurement similar and different?  Give examples.  Which one is the most basic and important?

Essay Question 2:

Explaine frequency, proportion, percentage, ratio,and rate with examples.  How are suicide rates presented all over the world?

Essay Question 3:

What are the three shapes of a normal curve?  Why do we call them bell curve?  Give the names and explain each.

Essay Question 4:

For graphic presentations in organizing data, discuss the differences between line charts and polygons, in terms of variables described.  What are the conventions to display the independent and dependent variables on a graphic presentation?

Computer Assignment:

Find a data set in the SPSS program and do the following:
1. Run frequencies for a nominal level of variable.
2. Based on the frequencies you have obtained, calculate proportion of one of the categories in the varible, and then its percentage.
3. Name two varibles in the data that are continous variables and two that are categorical variables.
4. Run a cross tabulation with two variables in the data, and then ask the computer for row percent, column percent, and total percent.

Please type and submit your computer work on a piece of paper, and email the whole work to my assistant Duncan.