ma4125 introd to computer aided data analysis Autumn 2005.docVIP

UNIVERSITY of LIMERICK OLLSCOIL LUIMNIGH COLLEGE OF INFORMATICS AND ELECTRONICS END OF SEMESTER ASSESSMENT PAPER MODULE CODE: MA4125 SEMESTER: Autumn 2001 MODULE TITLE: Computer Aided Data Analysis DURATION: 2? hours LECTURER: Dr. Ailish Hannigan EXTERNAL EXAMINER: Prof. S. McClean INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES: Answer any 4 questions (each question is worth 20 marks). Calculators may be used. This exam is worth 60% of your final grade. __________________________________________________________________________  Q1. (a) Distinguish between observational and experimental studies. What are the phases of the research process? (6 marks) (b) A researcher wants to find out the percentage of small and medium sized Irish companies that are ready for the Euro changeover. A list of small and medium sized Irish companies was obtained from Business and Finance and 100 companies were randomly selected from this list using systematic sampling. Of these 100 companies, 50 responded to the researcher’s survey. 35 of the 50 companies who responded were ready for the Euro changeover. For this example, identify the population, the sampling frame, the sample and the variable measured. Briefly describe how systematic sampling is carried out. What is the parameter of interest in this example? What is the best estimate of this parameter? Describe the potential bias in this example. (10 marks) (c) Classify the data from the following variables by data type: Level of education (1=primary, 2=secondary, 3=third level) Rating of satisfaction with employer on a scale of 0 to 10 Salary (￡’s) Length of work experience (1= less than 5 years, 2= 5 to 10 years, 3= more than 10 years) (4 marks) Q2. A survey of home Internet users was carried out to profile the users, find out the frequency of use of the Internet at home and also investigate if the home Internet users shopped online. D