POLI 300                                                PROBLEM SET #5A                                       due 03/23/09

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS

1.         Here are absolute frequencies for three variables in the SETUPS/ANES data (for 2004 respondents only).

                              V34                                  V42                           V45

                     code # of cases               code # of cases                      code # of cases

                         1           133                    1        372                             1        149

                         2           94                      2        145                             2        335

                         3           304                    3        209                             3        186

                         4           144                    4        162                             4        376

                         5           232                    5        218 

                         9           305                    9        106                             9        166

Use your SETUPS/ANES Codebook to find the substantive variable and value names/labels. For each value of each variable, calculate (using a calculator) the relative frequencies (percent), adjusted relative frequencies (valid percent), and (since these variables are all ordinal and the calculation make sense) cumulative frequencies for each variable. Construct a frequency table for each variable in (more or less) the same format as an SPSS Frequency Table. In particular, BE SURE TO LABEL VARIABLES AND VALUES BY SUBSTANTIVE NAME, so that any reader can readily understand each table. Then construct a frequency bar graph for each of the three variables, depicting adjusted relative frequencies (i.e., excluding missing data). YOUR GRAPHS SHOULD BE REASONABLY NEAT AND CAREFULLY DRAWN (graph paper may be helpful).

2          Find the corresponding variables in the Spring 2009 Student Survey (n = 29) data and construct a frequency table and frequency bar graph for each in the same format as you did in the previous problem. (If you want, merge to the two sets of bar graphs.) Are there are interesting similarities or contrasts between the 2004 ANES data and the Spring 2009 Student Survey data with respect to these variables?

Note. If you wish, you may use Excel, SPSS, or other software to create the bar graphs (but if you don’t already know how to do this using software, you will probably find it easier to make the charts by hand).