Chapter 10

Click on the following links - please note these will open in a new window

The following web exercise utilizes data from the World Values Survey (WVS). Begin by visiting the following URL: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/. Click on the Findings link to familiarize yourself with some of the major findings that have resulted from this effort in recent years.

For this exercise, we will use the WVS' online data analysis tool to construct frequency distributions. Begin by clicking on the link for Online Data Analysis under the Site Shortcuts heading. Click on the red Click here link at the bottom of your screen. This will bring you to Step -1, Online Data Analysis. Click on the red WVS 2005-2008 link. Select three countries of interest and then click Confirm selection. On the screen in front of you, there are several classes of variables (e.g., Perceptions of Life, Environment, Work, etc.). Under the Perceptions of Life heading, click on the Feeling of Happiness variable. You should now see a new window listing the actual survey question and possible answers. The tabs listed at the top will display different frequency distributions for your selected data.  To examine bivariate relationships, select the Cross-Tabs tab.  Begin by examining frequencies (as opposed to percentages). In the dropdown menu to the right of the Operations label, select Absolute Values. In the dropdown menu to the right of the Cross By label, select Age - respondent. You should now see a series of bivariate tables on the screen in front of you, one for each of the three countries you specified and one for the total sample. Next, we can percentage the table using the convention of column percentages as introduced in Chapter Ten. In the dropdown menu to the right of the Operations label, select Show %/(Column). Take a moment to reexamine the bivariate tables below to ensure that each table has been percentaged correctly.