Homework #7

PLS 209                                                                                 Name___________________________
Research Methods
Homework7
Data Set Creation Using SPSS 

********* Due March 31, 2008 *********

GET THE DATA

The data set will consist of the 50 US states and most, if not all, of the data will be from the Statistical Abstract of the United States. You will have at least five variables in you data set: State, Crime1 Rate, Poverty Rate, and two additional variables of your choice. 
Go to the main page of the Statistical Abstract  Statistical Abstract

Click on State and Metropolitan Area Data Book (should be lower right) State and Metropolitan Area Data Book: 2006
Click on State Data Tables    http://www.census.gov/compendia/smadb/SMADBstate.html 
Select the EXCEL version of Table A-25. Crimes and Crime Rates --- Save or print this table ---You will use the data in column "O" Total Property Crimes per 100,000 for 2003
Select the EXCEL version of TableA-36. Poverty Status of Families and Individuals in the Past 12 Months --- Save or print this table --- You will use the data from column "N" Percent (Individuals) Below Poverty in the Past 12 Months
Select a two more tables of your choice ---- select two variables you think might be related to one another

Hint:  An easy way to save the required information is to open a blank EXCEL spreadsheet.  In column 1 paste in the names of the states you can copy from either Table A-25 or A-36.  In the 2nd column past in the data for Total Property Crimes per 100,000 for 2003.  In the 3rd column past in the date for  Percent (Individuals) Below Poverty in the Past 12 Months.  Past the information on your other two variables into columns 4 and 5.

If you save your data in an EXCEL file it can be read directly into SPSS.  Insert a new top row in the spreadsheet.  In cell A1 enter State, in cell A2 enter Crime1, in cell A3 enter Poverty, in cell A4 enter the name of your first additional variable, and in cell A5 enter the name of your 2nd additional variable.  Read the EXCEL file with SPSS as a data file.

COMPUTER INSTRUCTIONS       

    Review Section 2 of the SPSS Tutorial on Creating a Data Set  http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/training/SPSS/Create_dataset.htm

 Step 1 Enter Data

  Step 2 Create a 2nd Crime Variable by Recoding Crime1 into a new variable named Crime2

 Step 3 Generate Scatterplots

  Step 4 Generate Frequencies for Crime2

 Submissions  

Email the saved states50.sav file to aspin@bradley.edu
In class hand in the two scatterplots and frequencies printouts



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Larry Aspin    aspin at bradley.edu
Dept of Political Science
Bradley University