PLS 209 Research Methods
Homework #4
Downloading from ICPSR and Generating Statistics in SPSS
Due   March 26, 2008

This assignment requires you to download an existing file in SPSS format to a Windows PC that is running SPSS.  You will generate four contingency tables and then answer some questions about the results.

First it would be helpful to read Section V of the online SPSS tutorial., or Chapter 5 of the Social Science Research and Instructional Council tutorial

Computer Procedures:

Step 1 Create an Account at ICPSR

As a Bradley University student you can download directly from the ICPSR archives, but you must first register.  This is simply a matter of providing your BU email address, creating a password, and setting some preferences.  Click on the above link to access the ICPSR login page and then select create an account under New User.  When creating the account make sure you check "SPSS system" or "SPSS portable" as your preferred data type.  After you have created the account return to this page and follow the link in Step 2.

Step 2 Download Study No. 4034   Title: ABC News/WASHINGTON POST Weapons of Mass Destruction Poll, February 2004

You should now see the following page. 

Click on the Download Data tab and you should see the following

Click on Add to Data Cart

Click on Download Data Cart

Agree to the terms of use window that opens

In the window that appears Select open the zip file

Keep opening folders until you see the file with the por extension

10046677
ICPSR_04034
DS0001

Copy  the SPSS portable file (04034-001-Data.por) and save it to the desktop.  

Step 3 Open the downloaded file in SPSS

With older versions of SPSS you can double click on the file name (04034-0001-Data.por) and SPSS will load and then open the file.  On new versions of SPSS, such as 15 currently installed in the library, first start SPSS and then open the file.  After starting SPSS select  in sequence File, Open, Data (in the window that opens set the "files of  type" to .por), select the file and click open. 

Step 4 Use SPSS to generate descriptive statistics

SPSS should open in the data editor view.  From the Analyze Menu select Descriptive Statistics and then Crosstabs 

In the crosstabs window
    1. Make "Before the war began do you think the Bush administration did or did not intentionally exaggerate its evidence that Iraq
         had weapons of mass destruction?" the row variable.  The variable name is  q12
                     (Highlight the variable name/label in the left window and then click the appropriate arrow)
    2. Make "PARTY ID" (q901)  and IDEOLOGY   (q908a) the column variables.
    3. Click on Cells and then check Column Percentages, click Continue to return to the crosstabs window
    4. Click OK to process the table

 

    Note: you can change whether variable names or variable labels are used in the menus and if they are listed alphabetically or by position in the data file. To list alphabetically by variable name click on edit and options.  On the General Tab, click both Display Names and Alphabetical.

In the output window
5. Set the page setup for landscape printing
               Make sure neither object in the page is selected (Check the print preview to make sure both will print)
6. Print the page by clicking on the printer button on the top of the page.

7. Delete the Output Window 

8. Repeat the analysis, but this time only for  those who had an opinion.  We will do this by having those who did not have an opinion declared as a missing value.

• In the Variable View window find the variable q12 ---It should be row 40.
• In the missing values column for q12 set the values 4 through 9 as missing---use the range option at the bottom of the window.
• Run the crosstab command again after you have set the missing values and again print the tables.
   

Questions:

Using the Case Processing Summary for the two tables with all cases 

1.  The are _______ total cases in the data set, of which  _____ are missing from the table for Q901 and Q12

Using the First Table (Q12 and Q901) with all cases [This table might span 2 pages]

2.  _____ percent of all respondents answered no and ______ percent have no opinion.

3.   ______ percent of Democrats answered no, whereas _____ percent of Republicans answered no.

Using the Second Table (Q12 and Q908A) with all cases

1.  ________ respondents volunteered they do not think in terms of liberal, moderate or conservative.

2. _____ percent of liberals _____ percent of moderates, and _____ percent of conservatives answered yes

3. The more liberal  the individual, the      (check one)  __ more  __ less likely they were to think the Bush administration
   exaggerated its evidence on Weapons of Mass destruction in Iraq.

Using the Case Processing Summary for the table  Q901 and Q12 without those with non opinion

1. The are _______ total cases in the data set of which  _____ are missing.

Using the Fourth Table (Q12 and Q908A without those who had no opinion)

2. Has removing the respondents without an opinion significantly changed the difference between the percentage of liberals and percentage of conservatives who answered yes? __ Yes   __  No

3. Which is most likely to have come first in time, an individual's political ideology or opinion of the Bush administrations portrayal of evidence of Weapons of Mass destruction? ________

4. Should it be concluded that an individual's political ideology conditioned or shaped his/her opinion of the Bush administration's
     portrayal of the evidence of Weapons of Mass destruction in Iraq? __ Yes __ No.