Web Activities

Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

Conduct a dependent samples t-test

Go to this website: http://www.socscistatistics.com/tests/ttestdependent/Default2.aspx

While most people think that personality is stable, we can feel more or less extraverted in various social situations. Have students think back to the last time they went to a party with people they knew versus when they went to a party alone. Then, for both parties, have them rate their extraversion for those situations using this question: 

At that party, I would describe myself as outgoing, sociable.

• 1 = Disagree strongly
• 2 = Disagree a little
• 3 = Neither agree nor disagree
• 4 = Agree a little
• 5 = Agree strongly

Have the class enter their data into the above calculator and conduct a two-tailed significance test to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference of how extraverted they felt at the two parties.

Conduct a dependent samples t-test

Go to this website: http://www.socscistatistics.com/tests/ttestdependent/Default2.aspx

Do people spend more time shopping or engaged in civic/religious activities? Have students estimate how much time they typically spend (in minutes) shopping and taking part in civic or religious activities. Have the class enter their data into the above calculator and conduct a two-tailed significance test to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference of how much time they spend in these two leisure categories.

Think of a simple question that you can post on social media to determine if you network differs from the general population.

Go to this website: http://www.socscistatistics.com/tests/studentttest/Default2.aspx

Think about a simple question you could ask your friends through social media. Before you ask the question, you will need to think of two questions that can be compared on the same metric. In my experience people are best at estimating how much time (in minutes) and money (in dollars) they do are would like to spend engaged in different activities. Be sure to ask two questions that can be measured and quantified (e.g., you can compute the mean for both questions) and that the response options are on the same metric. Then, post you question online. Using the data your friends report, use the calculator above to conduct a two-tailed significance test to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference between your two questions.