Peers-Brilliant Answers
Respond to at least one colleagues post below with a comment on the presentation and interpretation of their analysis. In your response, address the following questions:
1. Was the presentation of results clear? If so, provide some specific comments on why. If not, provide constructive suggestions.
2. Are you able to understand how the results might relate back to positive social change? Do you think there are other aspects of positive social change related to the results?
Student 1 Tonya
For your continuous variable:
Statistics
FAMILY INCOME IN CONSTANT DOLLARS
N
Valid
470
Missing
40
Mean
40486.23
Median
33255.00
Mode
40645
Std. Deviation
35218.208
Variance
1240322152.390
Range
160373
Minimum
370
Maximum
160742
FAMILY INCOME IN CONSTANT DOLLARS
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
370
6
1.2
1.3
1.3
1478
7
1.4
1.5
2.8
2587
5
1.0
1.1
3.8
3326
2
.4
.4
4.3
4065
6
1.2
1.3
5.5
4804
3
.6
.6
6.2
5543
5
1.0
1.1
7.2
6651
11
2.2
2.3
9.6
8314
17
3.3
3.6
13.2
10161
20
3.9
4.3
17.4
12009
11
2.2
2.3
19.8
13856
9
1.8
1.9
21.7
15704
11
2.2
2.3
24.0
17551
29
5.7
6.2
30.2
20323
25
4.9
5.3
35.5
24018
31
6.1
6.6
42.1
27713
24
4.7
5.1
47.2
33255
44
8.6
9.4
56.6
40645
50
9.8
10.6
67.2
49883
42
8.2
8.9
76.2
60968
37
7.3
7.9
84.0
73900
32
6.3
6.8
90.9
88680
14
2.7
3.0
93.8
103460
8
1.6
1.7
95.5
160742
21
4.1
4.5
100.0
Total
470
92.2
100.0
Missing
IAP
40
7.8
Total
510
100.0
1. Report the mean, median, and mode.
The mean is 40,486.23; the median is 33,255.00, and the mode is 40,645
1. What might be the better measure for central tendency? (i.e., mean, median, or mode) and why?
When reporting income, the median is the best measure of central tendency for income. Research scholars and government entities lean toward utilizing median earnings in their reports. The mean income allows skewness in the distribution when really low or high-income levels are included in the data (Frankfort-Nachmias et al., (2020, p. 89). As noted above, the minimum income is $370, and the maximum is $160,742.
1. Report the standard deviation.
The standard deviation is 35,218.208
1. How variable are the data? The standard deviation is far from zero. Thus, the variation is wide.
2. How would you describe this data? The data is continuous, and the level of measurement is interval-ratio. Approximately 11% of the families fall into the mode category. The range between the minimum and maximum income is $160,373. Since the mean of 40,486.23 is higher than the median of 33,255.00, the distribution is positively skewed. If the mean is used for data interpretation, this could allow for misleading information. The frequency table reveals that 53% or 248 families are within the median income or above.
3. What sort of research question would this variable help answer that might inform social change?
Knowing the family income helps researchers gather data on demographics. It helps them to build a profile of the respondents. In healthcare, individuals with higher levels of income tend to have health insurance coverage and better outcomes. It would help the researcher examine disparities in healthcare.
In this case, it would be helpful to add another variable, such as race, to compare income levels. This would allow one to evaluate discrepancies in household earnings relative to white, black, or other.
Post the following information for your categorical variable:
1. A frequency distribution.
RACE OF RESPONDENT
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
WHITE
417
81.8
81.8
81.8
BLACK
44
8.6
8.6
90.4
OTHER
49
9.6
9.6
100.0
Total
510
100.0
100.0
1. An appropriate measure of variation.
One must consider the level of measurement when deciding which measure of variation to use. An appropriate measure of variation would be the index of qualitative variation (IQV). According to Frankfort-Nachmias et al. (2020, p.115), this variability measure is utilized for nominal variables such as race. It allows researchers to determine the variability in a distribution. For the above race of respondent categorical variable, the IQV is .47.
1. How variable are the data? When the measurement level is nominal, the data carry the same value (Frankfort-Nachmias et al., (2020)
2. How would you describe this data?
The data is a categorical variable, and the measurement level is nominal. Over 80% of the respondents are white. The data reveals there is an opportunity for more excellent representation of non-whites in the GSS.
1. What sort of research question would this variable help answer that might inform social change?
The respondent’s race allows one to address the level of diversity in a given area (e.g., community, region, or state). Diversity, equity, and inclusion are crucial in our society. It is essential that all races are appropriately represented and culturally accepted in order to alleviate healthcare disparities.
Tonya
Reference:
Frankfort-Nachmias, C., Leon-Guerrero, A., & Davis, G. (2020). Social statistics for a diverse society (9th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Student 2 Alexis
Statistics
RS HIGHEST DEGREE
RESPONDENT INCOME IN CONSTANT DOLLARS
N
Valid
510
297
Missing
0
213
Mean
1.50
30647.90
Median
1.00
24017.50
Mode
1
33255
Std. Deviation
1.123
29628.154
Variance
1.260
877827515.006
Range
4
158287
Minimum
0
370
Maximum
4
158657
Sum
764
9102428
Descriptive Statistics
N
Minimum
Maximum
Sum
Mean
Std. Deviation
Variance
RESPONDENT INCOME IN CONSTANT DOLLARS
297
370
158657
9102428
30647.90
29628.154
877827515.006
RS HIGHEST DEGREE
510
0
4
764
1.50
1.123
1.260
RESPONDENTS SEX
510
1
2
790
1.55
.498
.248
Valid N (listwise)
297
The continuous variable is the mean income in constant dollars. The overall mean of the variable is approx. $30,647 (30647.904269). The median of the variable is approx. $24,017 (24017.5). The mode of the variable is $33,255. The mean is the most used measure of central tendency. It can be used with categorical data and continuous data; it is most often used with continuous data. The mean is equal to the sum of all the values in the data set divided by the number of values in the data set(Laerd Statistics, 2018). The standard deviation is approx. $29,628 (29628.154094).Variable dataisquantitative and is acquired through measurements. Acontinuous variable can be measured numerically. Numeric variables have an infinite number of values between any two values(Minitab, 2019).For this continuous variable,the descriptive statistics showed high variation among the respondent income due to the wide range in incomes. Overall, thiscontinuous variable represents the mean income of 510 individuals (280 females and 230 males). This variable helps answer social change by bringing awareness that women among the college-educated population has increased over time but are not paid as much as men with similar education levels.
The frequency distribution for categorical variables are shown in the tables below:
RS HIGHEST DEGREE
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
LT HIGH SCHOOL
66
12.9
12.9
12.9
HIGH SCHOOL
278
54.5
54.5
67.5
JUNIOR COLLEGE
49
9.6
9.6
77.1
BACHELOR
80
15.7
15.7
92.7
GRADUATE
37
7.3
7.3
100.0
Total
510
100.0
100.0
RESPONDENTS SEX
Frequency
Percent
Valid Percent
Cumulative Percent
Valid
MALE
230
45.1
45.1
45.1
FEMALE
280
54.9
54.9
100.0
Total
510
100.0
100.0
An appropriate measure of variation for categorical variables is the mode; this is the most often used value with categorical variables. After finding the mode, the range, specifically the midrange of the modal class, can be determined for categorical variables. The midrange is the midpoint between the lowest and highest values(University of Richmond, n.d.). The mode is not often used jointly with the midrange because it gives a poor estimate of the average(Government of Canada, 2011). Categorical variables contain a finite number of categories (Minitab, 2019). Not all categoricaldata may not have intrinsic ordering; for instance, gender is a categorical variable with two categories: male and female. On the other hand, degree levels is an ordinal categorical variable with five categories, and there is intrinsic ordering to the categories from lowest to highest. An ordinal variable is a categorical variable for which the possible values are ordered(University of Texas, 2011). Moreover, the descriptive statistics also showed an extremely high variation for the highest degree received, possibly due to a large number of individuals with their highest degree from high school. Overall. five hundred ten individuals were categorized by their level of degree from lowest to highest and categorized by their gender. These variables help answer social change by making awareness of the gender pay gap, which is the average difference between the income of men and women (Harper, 2020).
