1
Note: Questions in the Comprehensive Exam will not be the same, but will be similar to the example
question provided below.
Statistics Example Question
Using data from the 2006 General Social Survey, a researcher is interested in determining which variables have the greatest impact on
a person’s political attitudes (1= extremely liberal and 7 extremely conservative). Variables included in the analysis are: gender
(male=1, female=0), minority (white=0, non-white=1), educational attainment (by years), age (by years), total family income (ranging
from 1 to 23, higher score, higher income), respondent’s highest degree (0= less than high school, 1=high school, 2=junior college,
3=bachelor, 4=graduate degree), and born in US (1=yes, 0=no). Results generated by SPSS are presented on pages 2 to 6.
Answer the following questions based on the above information provided and results generated by SPSS.
a. Identify the level of measurement for each variable, independent variables, and dependent variable.
b. What proportion of variance is explained the model? Is the fitted regression line (prediction equation) good for predicting the
dependent variable from the independent variables?
c. Are the independent variables important in predicting the dependent variable? Can you determine the relative effects of the
independent variables in the model?
d. Check any violation of assumptions (i.e., normality, constant variance, outliers, and multicollinearity). Discuss in detail how
you can improve the model.
e. Write an essay about the findings. The essay should include, but not limited to, the effect (strength and direction) of each
significant variable on the dependent variable and possible limitations of the findings.
Descriptive Statistics
Mean
Std. Deviation
N
2
THINK OF SELF AS
LIBERAL OR
4.11
1.434
1398
Gender
.4435
.49697
1398
Minority
.2639
.44093
1398
US
.8612
.34583
1398
13.48
3.192
1398
TOTAL FAMILY INCOME
11.17
2.119
1398
AGE OF RESPONDENT
47.30
17.135
1398
RS HIGHEST DEGREE
1.59
1.186
1398
CONSERVATIVE
HIGHEST YEAR OF
SCHOOL COMPLETED
Model Summaryb
Model
1
R
.201a
R Square
Adjusted R
Std. Error of the
Square
Estimate
.040
.036
1.408
a. Predictors: (Constant), RS HIGHEST DEGREE, AGE OF
RESPONDENT, gender, US, TOTAL FAMILY INCOME, minority,
HIGHEST YEAR OF SCHOOL COMPLETED
b. Dependent Variable: THINK OF SELF AS LIBERAL OR
CONSERVATIVE
ANOVAa
Model
1
Sum of Squares
Regression
116.008
df
Mean Square
7
16.573
F
8.354
Sig.
.000b
3
Residual
2757.535
1390
Total
2873.543
1397
1.984
a. Dependent Variable: THINK OF SELF AS LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE
b. Predictors: (Constant), RS HIGHEST DEGREE, AGE OF RESPONDENT, gender, US, TOTAL
FAMILY INCOME, minority, HIGHEST YEAR OF SCHOOL COMPLETED
Coefficientsa
Model
Unstandardized Coefficients
Standardized
t
Sig.
Collinearity Statistics
Coefficients
B
(Constant)
4.136
.322
Gender
.045
.076
Minority
-.278
Beta
Tolerance
VIF
12.861
.000
.016
.593
.554
.985
1.016
.093
-.086
-2.997
.003
.846
1.181
.278
.119
.067
2.347
.019
.845
1.183
-.050
.022
-.111
-2.297
.022
.295
3.387
TOTAL FAMILY INCOME
.015
.019
.022
.794
.427
.922
1.085
AGE OF RESPONDENT
.007
.002
.087
3.249
.001
.952
1.051
RS HIGHEST DEGREE
-.034
.058
-.028
-.591
.554
.301
3.320
US
1
Std. Error
HIGHEST YEAR OF
SCHOOL COMPLETED
a. Dependent Variable: THINK OF SELF AS LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE
4
5
6