PSY330 Fall A 2024

M1 Assignment (35 points)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Use this Word document to fill in the answers to the questions. The answers must be supported either
by typing out the calculation process or by pasting SPSS (or Excel) output or data as instructed. When
prompted to paste something from the data or output file (nb. for SPSS, this would be from an Output
file), you may use the copy/paste function or take a screen shot of the relevant part to paste in as a
picture.

Note that 5 extra credit points would be earned for all of:
1. doing Questions 2, 4, and 5 of this assignment, other than parts requiring “manual”
calculations, using SPSS rather than Excel (with all submitted work being from SPSS), and
2. doing and earning full marks on the yellow highlighted question below (i.e., Q1), which is not
otherwise required.
3. Including as part of your (multi-file) assignment submission, (i) at least one Output (.spv)
SPSS file, containing all the calculations required for this assignment, and (ii) at least
one .sav SPSS data file. Regardless of whether you seek to earn 5 extra credit points on
this assignment, note as part of your submission of ALL future assignments, all of which
must be completed using SPSS, you MUST upload one or more Output (.spv) files showing
all the calculations required for that assignment, as well as at least one .sav file.

About M1 Data Set

Use Data for M1 Assignment for all the questions in this assignment. The data are similar to data
collected from a group of students in the psychology online master’s program. The questionnaire
included questions about their age, their employment status, their average number of minutes of cell
phone usage per day, the computer type they use for school work, the time zone of their physical
location, and the number of hours of sleep on a typical night.

Q1. Import data into SPSS and configure the variables (5 EC points)

The SPSS data file (with the extension .sav) must be submitted to earn any credit for Q1. Name the data
file “Data for M1 assignment – your last name”.

A. For up to 2 points of extra credit, in Variable View of the SPSS data file, make sure the Measure
column is correct for all variables.
(2 points. Deduct 1 point for each error, up to 2)

B. For up to 3 points extra credit, in Variable View of the SPSS data file, make sure the Values column is
properly specified for all nominal and ordinal variables.
(3 points. Deduct 1 point for each variable that is not specified or not specified correctly, up to 3)
PSY330 Fall A 2024

Q2. Create frequency tables for nominal/ordinal variables (7 points)

A. Select one nominal or ordinal variable and use SPSS or Excel to create a frequency table:

Enter the variable name: Sleep

(1 point)

Paste the frequency table from the SPSS output below, or create one in Excel and paste it below:

Sleep
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 5.00 3 7.5 7.5 7.5
5.75 1 2.5 2.5 10.0
6.00 3 7.5 7.5 17.5
6.25 1 2.5 2.5 20.0
6.50 7 17.5 17.5 37.5
6.75 1 2.5 2.5 40.0
7.00 9 22.5 22.5 62.5
7.25 2 5.0 5.0 67.5
7.50 2 5.0 5.0 72.5
7.75 1 2.5 2.5 75.0
8.00 2 5.0 5.0 80.0
8.25 2 5.0 5.0 85.0
8.50 3 7.5 7.5 92.5
8.75 3 7.5 7.5 100.0
Total 40 100.0 100.0

(3 points. Deduct 1 for each error, up to 3)

B. Select another nominal or ordinal variable and use SPSS or Excel to create a frequency table.

Enter the variable name: Employment

(1 point)

Paste the frequency table from the SPSS output below, or create one in Excel and paste it below:

Employment
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 0 9 22.5 22.5 22.5
1 13 32.5 32.5 55.0
2 18 45.0 45.0 100.0
Total 40 100.0 100.0
PSY330 Fall A 2024

(2 points. Deduct 1 for each error, up to 2)

Q3. Create grouped frequency tables for scale variables (12 points)

A. Select a scale variable and create a grouped frequency table with at least 8 bins. You may use Excel or
SPSS to help you organize the data while creating the grouped frequency table.

Enter the variable name: _____________

(1 point)

Paste/create the grouped frequency table below (1 point) and make sure it meets the following criteria:
- at least 8 bins
- equal score range for the bins
- the bins should not overlap in score range
- the bins collectively cover the whole range of scores
(4 points. Deduct 1 for failing to meet any of the criteria above, up to 2)

B. Select another scale variable and create a grouped frequency table with at least 8 bins. You may use
Excel or SPSS to help you organize the data while creating the grouped frequency table.

Enter the variable name: _____________

(1 point)

Paste/create the grouped frequency table below (1 point) and make sure it meets the following criteria:
- at least 8 bins
- equal score range for the bins
- the bins should not overlap in score range
- the bins collectively cover the whole range of scores
(4 points. Deduct 1 for failing to meet any of the criteria above, up to 2)

Q4. Create graphs for frequency distributions (10 points)

A. Select a nominal or ordinal variable and use SPSS or Excel to create a bar graph to show the frequency
distribution. If the variable is not nominal or ordinal, no credit is earned for this graph. Paste the graph
below (1 point) and make sure it meets the following criteria:
- the graph has a title indicating what is presented
- the graph has labels for X and Y axes
- the graph is a bar graph
- the data plotted are correct
(4 points. Deduct 1 for failing to meet any of the criteria above, up to 3)

B. Select a scale variable and use SPSS or Excel to create a histogram to show the frequency distribution.
If the variable is not a scale variable, no credit is earned for this graph. Paste the graph below (1 point)
and make sure it meets the following criteria:
PSY330 Fall A 2024

- the graph has a title indicating what is presented

- the graph has labels for X and Y axes
- the graph is a histogram
- the data plotted are correct
(4 points. Deduct 1 for failing to meet any of the criteria above, up to 3)

Q5. Descriptive statistics: Central tendency and variability (6 points)

For this question set, use the first 10 (subject ID #1-#10) subjects’ data points on variable “AGE” and
manually calculate the descriptive statistics using the formulas introduced in the lectures. No credit is
earned if the answer is not accompanied by the calculation process or explanation of how you got the
answer.

A. Manually calculate the mean and the median of the sample data (10 scores) on the variable “Age.”
-No credit is earned if the answer is not accompanied by the calculation process or explanation of how
you got the answer.
-No credit is earned if the answer is simply taken from SPSS output.
(1 point. Each statistic =.5, calculation or explanation process is needed to earn the points)

B. Manually calculate the standard deviation and the range of the sample data (10 scores) on the
variable “Age.”
-No credit is earned if the answer is not accompanied by the calculation process or explanation of how
you got the answer.
-No credit is earned if the answer is simply taken from SPSS output.
(1 point. Each statistic =.5, calculation or explanation process is needed to earn the points)

C. Now let’s use the sample data (10 scores) to estimate the population parameters. Enter the 10 data
points into an SPSS or Excel file. Have SPSS or Excel calculate all of mean, median, standard deviation,
and range. (Notes: (1) Normally I ask you to not ask Excel to calculate these values for you, but you are
to ask it to, here. (2) We are only using 10 data points so, If you’re using SPSS, it’s easier to type the
values in. If you import the whole file, you will have to tell SPSS to only use the first 10 scores.)
- Paste the SPSS output table, or portion of the Excel screen, showing the four statistics.
- Submit the SPSS output file if you used SPSS, or your full Excel file showing the above work, with this
answer sheet, to earn credit for this question set.
(2 points. 1 point for correct statistics; 1 point for pasting as above. The output file (if using SPSS) or
portion of the Excel screen showing the four statistics must be submitted to earn the credit for this
question.)

D. Compare the manually calculated statistics from A and B with those from C, and answer the following
questions:
1. Is the sample mean different from the estimated population mean? Why or why not?
(1 point. Each question = .5)

2. Is the sample standard deviation different from the estimated population standard deviation? Why or
why not?
(1 point. Each question = .5)
PSY330 Fall A 2024