DATA SETS DESCRIPTIONS

NOTE: As a convenience to me, I have included several data set descriptions here in this same file ... just scroll down until you find the one you want ... and cut and paste and print if you want.

HIGHDATA

This data set is taken from a large survey of high school seniors (total N=30,000) and is a subset of n=500 cases. The data file was taken from a data disk for the 4th edition of Applied Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, by ... Hinkle, Wiersma, and Jurs ... Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Thanks goes to Dennis Hinkle for permission to use this data set for PRACTICE ANALYSIS ONLY. The variables in the data file are:

id
visual ... score on 16 item visual test
mosaic .. score on 56 item patterns test
selfgrad ... self report of high school grades ... 8=mostAs, 7=1/2 As 1/2 Bs, 6=mostBs, 5=1/2 Bs 1/2 Cs, 4= most Cs, 3=1/2 Cs 1/2 Ds, 2=most Ds, 1=below Ds
mthgrd ... self report of math grades 1=most As and Bs, 0=otherwise
alg1yn ... took alg1 ... yes or no
alg2yn ... took alg2 ... yes or no
geomyn ... took geom yes or no
trigyn ... took trig yes or no
calcyn ... took calculus yes or no
mathach ... scores on 25 item math test ... -=lower and + = higher
dadedlev ... level of ed of dad ... 10=md or phd, 9=masters, 8=bach grad, 7=more than 2 yrs coll, 6=less than 2 years coll, 5=more than 2 yrs tech school, 4=less then 2 yrs tech school, 3=high school grad, 2=less than high school
momedlev ... (same as above)
gender ... 0=f, 1=m

COURSE EVALUATION DATA

This set of data came from a tryout of a new instructor evaluation form at a university. There was a very large sample of students and about 500 are represented in the file. The items on the form were:

The instructor clearly presented the objectives and expectations of the course
The instructor's evaluations of students (tests,projects,assignments) were fair
Taking the size of the class into consideration, the instructor provided useful and timely feedback to students about how they did on assignments and/or examinations
The instructor clearly emphasized main points in lectures and discussions
Where appropriate, the instructor provided alternative explanations of content material
In relation to the size of the class, the instructor provided adequate office hours or other means for students to get help outside of class
The instructor's use of assignments, projects, or activities facilitated student learning in the course
The instructor took his/her teaching responsibilities seriously
The instructor helped me learn the content material of the course
The instructor demonstrated interest and enthusiasm in the subject matter
The instructor organized the class well
In relation to the size of the class, the instructor appropriately encouraged students to ask questions about lectures and/or course material
The instructor helped me think more clearly about the course material
The instructor's presentations and explanations were clear

In the data file, c1-c14 represent actual student ratings of the instructors (this file had about 12 different instructors and 2 sections/courses from each instructor). These have the 'r' ... for actual Rating. The rating scale was from 0=lowest quality to 8=highest quality.

c15="Is this course required (0) or elective (1)?"

c16="Are you a Fresh (0), Soph (1), Jr (2), Sr (3), Grad (4)"

c17="What grade do you expect to get in this course? F=0. D=1, C=2, C+=3, B-=4, B=5, B+=6, A-=7, A=8

c18-c31 represented student responses to each of the same items shown above ... but they were asked to indicate if the item was appropriate for use on an instructor evaluation form: 0=Definitely NOT appropriate, 4=Average appropriateness , 8=Definitely appropriate. These columns have the "g" listed for the Goodness of the item.

In addition to student responses, about 50 faculty were given the new form and also asked about whether they thought the items were appropriate or not. The average values across the faculty are shown in c32 ... in the same order of the items (1-14).

1998 CLASS SURVEY

A survey was given to students in intro (400) and second level (406) stat classes here in edpsy at penn state. Between both classes, n=75. Here is the list of variables and the codes:

4046:in 400=1,in 406=2
prog: ba=1,masters=2,doctorate=3
yrs: years at penn state
sx:male=1,female=2
us:number of undergrad stat courses
gs:number of grad stat courses
stnow:taking any OTHER stat course now; 1=no,2=yes
cred:number of credits enrolled for
mth:perception of their math ability; low=1, 5=high
genanx:anxiety coming into course; 1=high, 5=low
comli:perception of their computer literacy; 1=low,5=high
stpkb4:had they used a stat package before; 1=no,2=yes
mtbb4:had they used minitab before; 1=no,2=yes
xprtspk:expert in a stat package; 1=no,2=yes
hgt:height in inches
age:years of age
tstanx:perception of their level of test anxiety; 1=high,5=low
statt:summated score on 6 items meas stat att; 6=maxNEGATIVE,24=MAXPositive
finlgt: 1=pointer finger longer than ring finger,2=ring finger longer than pointer,3=same