VISUALIZING AND DISPLAYING QUANTITATIVE DATA
This week students will
- Interpret various types of data sets.
- Evaluate rules of data and decision-making.
- Identify types of variables.
- Discriminate lurking variables and causation.
- Identify sources and origin of data.
- Examine relationships between variables.
In Week 2, you will dive deeper into studying relationships between variables and learn how to interpret data sets. In your first discussion forum, you will find and evaluate real-world data sources. In the second discussion forum, you will study the relationship between correlation and causation, along with the concept of lurking variables. This week’s assignment requires you to evaluate data sets, create a scatterplot, and analyze your findings..
Numbeo. (n.d.). Northern America: Current cost of living index by city. Retrieved from https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/region_rankings_current.jsp?region=021 • This webpage provides information about the cost of living in various cities and will assist you in your Identifying Relationships Between Variables assignment this week. Accessibility Statement does not exist.
United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Library: Infographics & visualizations. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations.html • This webpage provides infographics and visualizations representing various data sets collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. It will be useful in your Interpretation of Quantitative Distributions Peer Feedback discussion forum this week.
U.S. Small Business Administration. (n.d.). Office of Entrepreneurship Education | Resources. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/offices/headquarters/oee/resources/2836 • This webpage provides general business and data statistics collected by the U.S. Small Business Administration. It will be useful in your Interpretation of Quantitative Distributions Peer Feedback discussion forum this week.
Websites United States Census Bureau. (https://www.census.gov/) • This website provides access to U.S. data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau. It will be useful in your Interpretation of Quantitative Distributions Peer Feedback discussion this week.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. (https://www.bea.gov/) • This website provides access to federal economic data sets gathered by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It will be useful in your Interpretation of Quantitative Distributions Peer Feedback discussion forum this week
Interpretation of Quantitative Distributions Peer Feedback [WLOs: 1, 2, 6] [CLO: 3]. 1st Post Due by Day 3. Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read Chapters 3 and 4 of your textbook. Find a quantitative variable and an associated graph that depicts a demographic about the United States. This can be any topic of your choosing. Government data, business publications, and corporations’ websites are good sources of information. You may want to begin your search using one of the following resources: • United States Census Bureau • United Sates Census Bureau’s Library: Infographics & Visualizations • U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Entrepreneurship Education | Resources
In your post,
• Post the URL and the distribution graph from the website.
• Discuss who you believe generated the data. Do you think it is credible?
• Discuss what the graph reveals about the variable.
• Explain any unusual aspects, as well as the shape, center, and spread of the distribution.
• Discuss your own interpretation of the distribution.
. Causation, Correlation, and Lurking Variables Peer Feedback [WLOs: 3, 4, 6] [CLO: 5]. 1st Post Due by Day 3. Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read Chapters 3 and 4 of your textbook. Design a study that has a false correlation caused by lurking variable. Watch this week’s video for an example study, and to learn more information about this concept.
Week 2 Reflective Journal [WLOs: 2, 5, 6] [CLOs: 1, 3, 4]. Due by Day 7. Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapters 3 and 4 in Superforecasting. The intent of the journal is to apply what you have learned to how data analytics is applied in industry. After reading the assigned chapters of Superforecasting this week, write a reflective journal of the three most important take-aways contained in the chapters. Your journal should be between two to three pages excluding cover and reference page.
Identifying Relationships Between Variables [WLOs: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6] [CLOs: 2, 5]. Due by Day 7. Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapter 4 of your textbook, including the Brief Case “Cost of Living” at the end of Chapter 4 on page 143 and access the Numbeo Northern America: Current Cost of Living Index by City (numbeo.com) webpage. In this assignment, you will be analyzing the Cost of Living Index and the Groceries Index for seven U.S. cities and creating a scatterplot to identify the relationships between the variables. You may choose any seven U.S. cities you wish.
Go to the Numbeo Northern America: Current Cost of Living Index by City (numbeo.com) and then
follow directions below to get started:
• Identify seven cities and note the “Cost of Living Index” value and the “Groceries Index” value.
• Develop a table with three columns:
o City
o Groceries Index (independent variable)
o Cost of Living Index (dependent variable)
• Complete one row for column titles (City name, Groceries Index, and Cost of Living Index) and
seven rows that show the city name, Groceries Index and the Cost of Living index.
In your Excel spreadsheet or tool of your choosing you will have developed a table with three columns,
one row for titles, and seven rows containing data for each city you selected. In Excel or the software of
your choosing:
• Insert or draw a scatterplot of the selected data set.
• Display the regression line (also called the trend line, linear model, or line of best fit). In Excel
click anywhere in the scatterplot. Click on the plus sign and at the bottom of Chart Elements
select “Trend line.”
Display the equation for the trend line and R2 value on the graph. In Excel right click on the
trend line. View the options on the right of the chart under “Format Trendline” and scroll to the
bottom to select the boxes for display equation on chart and display R-squared on chart options.
In your paper:
• Cite the URL and complete an APA reference for the URL.
• Provide the table with your data and your spreadsheet of the graph with the equation and R2
value.
• Analyze your findings of the best and worst cities that predict the relationship between the
Groceries Index and Cost of Living Index.
• Assess the relationship between the Groceries Index and Cost of Living Index in the cities you
studied.
