IS 207
Statistical Analysis Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is to introduce you to the tools and logic
of statistical analysis, specifically the use of descriptive statistics. The
data consist of fifty observations taken randomly over a one-week period from
the provider of an Internet search engine. The data measure five variables and
are in three files on the course web page.
NOTES: The same data are in all the files--an HTML file, an Excel file,
and an SPSS file in the .sav format. There is also a
.zip file with the other three; links to all are on the course resources page.
All files are named "web_data_07"--the extensions are .html,
.xls, .sav, and .zip. Due date: Tuesday, February
20. This assignment is to be done on an individual basis.
The fields in the data set are:
Variable # |
Description |
Format |
Range or Key |
1 |
Start time |
nnnn |
0000-2359 ("military time") |
2 |
Length of time connected |
nn |
minutes using home page |
3 |
User domain |
n |
1
= com |
4 |
Has user accepted "cookie" |
n |
0
= no |
5 |
Destination |
n |
1
= Banner ad |
These data have been collected from the log files at an imaginary web site. Each time the home page is accessed, data are recorded that include the time at which the user was first sent the complete home page (reloads are ignored), the length of time that elapses between the time the home page has been sent and the user sends the command to leave (usually by clicking on an embedded link), the full address of the user (from which the top-level domain has been extracted), whether or not the user accepted the "cookie" sent by the server, and the "destination" to which the user went after leaving this page. The concept of "destination" is an evolving one; here we mean the next page or server that the user selected after downloading the home page, if it could be determined.
The search engine provider wants to develop a set of user profiles and summary statistics describing its users and their behavior. It believes that it can learn from an analysis of the logs and hopes this information will be useful in helping determine advertising rates and similar business issues.
Your assignment is to use Excel and SPSS to answer the following questions. While you are encouraged to attach parts of the SPPS output to document your answers, that is not sufficient. You are to write a brief memo to your supervisor summarizing your findings and responses. This memo should be clear, concise, easy to read, and in standard business English.
NOTES: First, use Excel for Basic Questions 1-4 and then compare its ease of use and output style to SPSS. Also, there is a second set of questions that are more "academic." You should attach an Appendix to your memo that answers these questions.
BASIC QUESTIONS:
Overnight: Midnight – 7:59 AM
Day: 8:00 AM – 4:59 PM
Evening: 5:00 PM – 11:59PM.
What is the breakdown of usage by day-part? (Again, look only at time at which connection is made; ignore connection time.)
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS: