Business Question

OPTION #1: SPRINGDALE SHOPPING SURVEY

Instructions

The major shopping areas in the community of Springdale include Springdale Mall, West Mall, and the downtown area on Main Street. A telephone survey has been conducted to identify strengths and weaknesses of these areas and to find out how they fit into the shopping activities of local residents. The 150 respondents were also asked to provide information about themselves and their shopping habits. The data are provided in the file SHOPPING. The variables in the survey can be found in the file CODING.

We will concentrate on variables 18–25, which reflect how important each of eight different attributes is in the respondent’s selection of a shopping area. Each of these variables has been measured on a scale of 1 (the attribute is not very important in choosing a shopping area) to 7 (the attribute is very important in choosing a shopping area). The attributes being rated for importance are listed below. Examining the relative importance customers place on these attributes can help a manager “fine-tune” his or her shopping area to make it a more attractive place to shop.

18 Easy to return/exchange goods

19 High quality of goods

20 Low prices

21 Good variety of sizes/styles

22 Sales staff helpful/friendly

23 Convenient shopping hours

24 Clean stores and surroundings

25 A lot of bargain sales

1. Perform the following operations for variables 18–25:
   1. Compute descriptive statistics for each variable along with an explanation of what the descriptive statistics tell us about the variable. This will include the mean, mode, range, standard deviation, and the five-number summary (minimum, first quartile (Q1), median (Q2), third quartile (Q3), and maximum). Be sure to show each calculation in your spreadsheet.
   2. Are there any data points for any of the variables that can be considered outliers? If there are any outliers in any variable, list them and state for which variable they are an outlier. Use the z-score method to determine any outliers for this question. Be sure to show each z-score calculation in your spreadsheet for each variable.
2. Based on the results for question 1, which attributes seem to be the most important and the least important in respondents’ choice of a shopping area? Which items from #1 did you use to decide on the least and most important attributes, and why?
3. Determine the correlation coefficient between variable 19 and variables 21 – 25. Provide an explanation of these relationships. Show your calculations for each correlation coefficient within the spreadsheet.

Requirements:

• Your paper should be 2-3 pages in length (not counting the title page and references page) and cite and integrate at least one credible outside source. The CSU Global Library is a great place to find resources. Your textbook is a credible resource.
• Include a title page, introduction, body, conclusion, and a reference page.
  • The introduction should describe or summarize the topic or problem. It might discuss the general applications of the topic or it might introduce the unique terminology associated with the topic.
  • The body of your paper should address the questions posed in the problem. Explain how you approached and answered the question or solved the problem, and, for each question, show all steps involved. Be sure this is in paragraph format, not numbered answers like a homework assignment.
  • The conclusion should summarize your thoughts about what you have determined from your analysis in completing the assignment. Nothing new should be introduced in the conclusion that was not previously discussed in the body paragraphs.
• Include any tables of data or calculations, calculated values, and/or graphs referenced in the paper. (Note: The minimum required length excludes any tables or graphs.)
• Document formatting, citations, and style should conform to CSU Global Writing Center. (Links to an external site.) A short summary containing much that you need to know about paper formatting, citations, and references is contained in the Template Paper (Links to an external site.).

NOTE: You MUST submit your Excel file with your report. This will allow you to qualify for consideration for partial credit if any errors are found in your report.

OPTION #2: WORLD POPULATIONS

Instructions

There are 195 sovereign countries in the world today that are officially recognized. One can choose to look at many types of data coming from these countries, as there is a plethora of existing information. For this assignment, you will be looking at populations of cities within Italy at four different points in time (depending on when a census was taken). The data for these cities can be found in the file named Populations. Use all of the data points for each of the years given, but note that not every city has a population for each census.

Prepare a report (see below) using the numerical methods of descriptive statistics presented in this module to show how the populations of the cities vary over the years (growth rates). Be sure to include the following three (3) items in your report:

• Compute descriptive statistics for each of the years along with an explanation of what the descriptive statistics tell us about the different years. Are the cities continually growing or is there a decrease in the number of people? The descriptive statistics will include the mean, mode, range, standard deviation, and the five-number summary (minimum, first quartile (Q1), median (Q2), third quartile (Q3), and maximum).
• Determine which cities, if any, should be considered outliers in each of the years. If there are any outliers in any year, list them and state for which year each one is an outlier. Use the z-score method to determine outliers for this question showing the z-score calculations for each city and year in your spreadsheet.
• Determine the correlation coefficient between the first year and each of the other years. Provide an explanation of these relationships. Show your calculations for each correlation coefficient within the spreadsheet.

Requirements:

• Your paper should be 2-3 pages in length (not counting the title page and references page) and cite and integrate at least one credible outside source. The CSU Global Library is a great place to find resources. Your textbook is a credible resource.
• Include a title page, introduction, body, conclusion, and a reference page.
  • The introduction should describe or summarize the topic or problem. It might discuss the general applications of the topic or it might introduce the unique terminology associated with the topic.
  • The body of your paper should address the questions posed in the problem. Explain how you approached and answered the question or solved the problem, and, for each question, show all steps involved. Be sure this is in paragraph format, not numbered answers like a homework assignment.
  • The conclusion should summarize your thoughts about what you have determined from your analysis in completing the assignment. Nothing new should be introduced in the conclusion that was not previously discussed in the body paragraphs.
• Include any tables of data or calculations, calculated values, and/or graphs referenced in the paper. (Note: The minimum required length excludes any tables or graphs.)
• Document formatting, citations, and style should conform to CSU Global Writing Center. (Links to an external site.) A short summary containing much that you need to know about paper formatting, citations, and references is contained in the Template Paper (Links to an external site.).

NOTE: You MUST submit your Excel file with your report. This will allow you to qualify for consideration for partial credit if any errors are found in your report.