Answer each question. Use a wordprocessor to prepare your assignment and, where relevant, cut and paste material from Stata into the wordprocessor document. Read the questions carefully to make sure you are answering everything.
Note: Questions 2 and 3 require you to use Stata.
Please do not use ChatGPT or equivalent.
1. ''Levels of Measurement''
A certain data set contains the following variables:
- Union membership (yes/no)
- Age in years
- Income group (monthly: €0-2000, €2000-5000, €5000-10000, €10000+)
- Daily commuting distance (kms)
- Approval of Taoiseach's performance: strongly approve, approve, neither, disapprove, strongly disapprove
- Nationality
For each variable,
- indicate at which of the following levels of measurement it is:
- Nominal
- Ordinal
- Interval
- Ratio
- briefly explain why and
- suggest a suitable way of summarising the variable
2. Univariate Summaries
Download the file assign1.dta
from the Stata command box.
This is an extract from the Dept of Education/ESRI School Leavers' survey (for 1993), and contains the following variables:
| | Variable List |
|---|
| SEX | School Leavers Sex |
| EMPSTAT | Usual Employment Situation |
| STAGELFT | At What Stage of Education did you Leave |
| LASTEXAM | Last Certificate Examination |
| GRSEARN | Gross Earnings Last Week |
| NETEARN | Net Earnings Last Week |
| FEELEMP | Feeling re Present Employment Situation |
For the variables SEX, EMPSTAT, GRSEARN and FEELEMP do the following:
- present a numerical univariate summary
- present an appropriate graphical summary, and
- briefly describe what the numerical and graphical summaries tell about the variable.
3. Bivariate Summaries
With the same file as in question 2, present numerical and graphical summaries, on the following pairs of variables:
- Sex and usual employment situation
- Sex and net earnings
- Gross earnings and net earnings
In each case:
- Briefly indicate what sort of relationship you might have expected to see, and why
- Describe what you do see, and compare it with your expectations.
4. Sampling
Write a brief note (c.300–400 words) on the role of sampling in quantitative research. you will find useful information in chapter 2 of Agresti, and chapter 8 of Bryman.
