Test Questions & Answers Chapter 5 Measures Of Dispersion - Statistics for Criminology 3e Complete Test Bank by Jacinta Michele Gau. DOCX document preview.
Test Bank
Chapter 5: Measures of Dispersion
Multiple Choice
1. The amount of spread or variability among scores in a distribution is also referred to as which of the following?
A. valence
B. normality
C. dispersion
D. clustering
2. In the following list, the only measure of dispersion that is suitable for nominal and ordinal data is ______.
A. the variation ratio
B. the ratio
C. the dispersal ratio
D. the bounding rule
3. There is a rule dictating that all proportions range from 0.00 to 1.00. What is the name of this rule?
A. rule of completeness
B. rule of complement
C. boundary requirement
D. bounding rule
4. The sum of the deviation scores used in the calculation of the variance and standard deviation will always be ______.
A. 1
B. 0
C. 0.1
D. none of these, as deviation scores do not play a role in the calculation of the variance
5. Measures of central tendency can actually be considerably misleading at times because ______
A. it is possible for two very different distributions to have similar means
B. it is possible for two very different distributions to have similar standard deviations
C. the variation ratio is not equal to the sum of the squared deviations of the distribution under analysis
D. all of these
6. The variation ratio is a spinoff of what rule?
A. the rule of the complement
B. the rule of requirement
C. the rule of boundary
D. the rule of limits
7. The variation ratio offers information about what?
A. whether the variation ratio and variance are indicating similar squares of the deviation scores
B. whether the modal category adheres to the midpoint of the margins rule
C. whether the variance, standard deviation, and range are in accord with the bounding rule
D. whether the data tend to cluster inside the modal category or whether a fair amount of the cases are located in other categories
8. The Rule of the Complement maintains that ______.
A. the proportion of cases that are not in a certain category can be found by subtracting the proportion that is in that category from 1.00.
B. the proportion of cases that are not in a certain category can be found by subtracting the proportion that is in that category from 0.
C. the value of the variation ratio when added to the variance will always sum to 1.00.
D. the value of the variance when added to the standard deviation of a distribution will always sum to 1.00.
9. In order to calculate the variation ratio, what must first be identified?
A. mean
B. median
C. standard deviation
D. mode
10. The mean of the deviation scores in any data distribution is also known by research scientists as what?
A. the variation ratio
B. the variance
C. the mean
D. the standard deviation
11. One characteristic of the Standard Deviation is that it can never be ______.
A. a positive number
B. a negative number
C. the absolute value of the variance
D. the square root of the variance
12. A great deal of dispersal in a data distribution would ultimately produce which of the following?
A. a large standard deviation
B. a small standard deviation
C. a negative variance
D. a negative standard deviation
13. In a normal distribution, approximately how many of the scores lie within 1 standard deviation below and 1 standard deviation above the mean.
A. 50% or half
B. 25% or1/4
C. 67% or 2/3
D. 75% or 3/4
14. The variance is one measure of dispersion that is suitable for use with which of the following levels of measurement?
A. nominal
B. ordinal
C. ratio
D. any level of measurement will suffice with the variance
15. The equation p(A) + p(Not A) = 1.00 is a mathematical expression of which rule?
A. the bounding rule
B. the rule of the complement
C. the normal distribution
D. the midpoint of the magnitudes
16. The mathematical expression “(1.00-fmode)/N” represents which of the following?
A. the variance
B. the standard deviation
C. the range
D. the variation ratio
17. A very large variation ratio would be indicative of which of the following circumstances?
A. a vast majority of the cases in the modal category
B. a vast majority of the cases outside the modal category
C. a vast majority of cases having a standard deviation of −1.00
D. a vast majority of cases having a small variance
18. The mathematical expression “Xmax − Xmin” represents which of the following?
A. variation ratio
B. standard deviation
C. range
D. variance
19. One disadvantage of using the range as a measure of dispersion is ______?
A. it uses most of the raw data in a distribution, therefore allowing a researcher little discretion in the analysis
B. it uses very little of the data in a distribution, therefore a researcher has no information regarding the shape of the distribution
C. it offers a researcher so much information regarding the shape of the distribution that subsequent analyses are rendered unnecessary
D. it is not a reliable measure suitable for use with continuous or interval level data
20. The variance is suitable for use only with which of the following types of data?
A. continuous
B. nominal
C. ordinal
D. discrete
21. Which of the following is true with regard to the variance?
A. The variance is essentially the sum of the total squared deviations from the mean divided by the sample size −1.
B. The variance is essentially the square root of the squared deviations from the mean divided by the sample size.
C. The variance is essentially the sum of the deviation scores.
D. The variance is essentially the square of the deviation scores.
22. The standard deviation is actually a relatively simple statistic to calculate because ______.
A. it is the square root of the variance
B. it is the square of the variance
C. it is the square of the deviation scores
D. it is the square root of the deviation scores
23. Under what circumstances does the variance produce an estimate of the population variance that is downwardly biased?
A. When sample size is very small; N < 50.
B. When sample size is large; N >100.
C. There are no circumstances under which the variance produces a biased estimate.
D. The only instances where a population variance can be downwardly biased is when the mean = median = mode.
24. What is the measure of how much a distribution curve’s width departs from normality?
A. dispersion
B. kurtosis
C. variance
D. leptokurtosis
25. SPSS does not offer which of the following?
A. variation ratios
B. variances
C. ranges
D. standard deviations
26. A ______ standard deviation would be indicated by a clustering of the raw values close to the mean of the distribution.
A. large
B. small
C. normal
D. skewed
27. The normal or typical scores in a distribution are located approximately ______ and ______ the mean.
A. one variation below; one variation above
B. two variations below; two variations above
C. 1 standard deviation below; 1 standard deviation above
D. 2 standard deviations below; 2 standard deviations above
28. S2 is the statistical symbol for ______.
A. variance
B. standard deviation
C. square root
D. none of these
29. Dispersion can also be understood as the amount of ______ in a set of raw scores.
A. normality
B. skew
C. closeness
D. variability
30. Substantively, the ______ is the mean of the deviation scores.
A. variation
B. standard deviation
C. minimum
D. maximum
31. The square root of the variance is known as the ______.
A. variation
B. standard deviation
C. minimum
D. maximum
32. In SPSS, the range, variance, and standard deviation functions are located under the ______ formula tab.
A. range
B. compute
C. analyze
D. execute
33. The standard deviation is usually presented in conjunction with the ______ in the description of a continuous variable.
A. mean
B. median
C. mode
D. range
34. Which of the following is a better measure of dispersion when the data are continuous?
A. variation ratio
B. range
C. mean
D. variance
35. Generally speaking, scores that are more than one ______ below or above the mean are not common.
A. variance
B. variation ratio
C. standard deviation
D. none of the above
1. The variation ratio is the only measure of dispersion that can be used with categorical variables.
2. The variance can only be used with continuous data.
3. The variance and range are considered the quintessential measures of dispersion.
4. The variance is constructed from mean-based deviation scores.
5. It is possible for one distribution to have a higher mean than a second distribution yet possess a smaller variance.
6. The amount of spread or variability of a distribution is called its dispersion.
7. The term dispersion is also referred to as variability at times.
8. The first step in the calculation of the variation ratio is identification of the mode.
9. A large variation ratio is an indication that the majority of cases are not in the modal category.
10. One advantage of the variation ratio as a measure is dispersion is the fact that this measure allows a researcher to determine the exact location of cases that are outside the modal category.
11. A scattering of raw scores far from the mean of a distribution would result in a large standard deviation.
12. It is important to remember when calculating the range that only the actual raw scores are used, not the frequencies of those scores.
13. One of the greatest advantages of the range as a measure of dispersion centers on the fact that it is easy to calculate and easy to understand, which, ironically, also makes it too simplistic a measure to be of much use to a researcher.
14. The standard deviation is symbolized in statistics by s.
15. The variation ratio is a measure of dispersion that is good to use with variables of any level of measurement.
16. The rule of complement is based on the bounding rule.
17. The phrase “the proportion of cases that are not in a certain category can be found by subtracting the proportion that are in that category from 1.00” is a reference to the rule of complement.
18. The rule stating that all proportions must range from 0.00 to 1.00 is known as the bounding rule.
19. The variation ratio is symbolized in equations as SD.
20. A measure of dispersion suitable for continuous variables that is calculated by subtracting the smallest score from the largest is called the maximum.
1. Describe leptokurtosis.
2. Describe platykurtosis.
3. Why would the variance be a preferable measure of dispersion to the variation ratio?
4. Briefly explain why it is so important for a research scientist to square the deviation scores in the calculations for the variance and standard deviation.
5. Why is the standard deviation a better measure than the variance in terms of interpretation?
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Statistics for Criminology 3e Complete Test Bank
By Jacinta Michele Gau