Problem Set #1

You will use the North Carolina County dataset (NC County Data) that is attached as an excel) to complete the assignment. Note

that the documentation with specifics about the source and definitions for variables

are provided in the corresponding Word Document (File: county_data-notes.doc).

Please write your responses to this assignment in a Word document. Do not submit

a .pdf or any other type of file and do not link to a shared documents, you must

submit files, not links.

Use the NC County Data (use the first sheet “NC County Data”) to answer the below

questions.

1) In a short paragraph, provide a brief description of the dataset. This should

include the following things: the data source, what each observation of data

represents, number of observations, and a brief description of the variables found in

the data set (you will have to summarize, I don’t want you to define all the variables).

See below for an example. (2.5 points)

2) Generate descriptive statistics for five variables that you choose from the dataset

(use the first sheet “NC County Data”). You can choose any variables, but they must

be numeric and Excel needs the data to be next to each other or else you will get an

error. I provided an example of how to do this in this week’s video on using Excel.

For this exercise, you should use all observations in the sample for the variables you

choose. Use the data analysis tool to generate your descriptive statistics like I did

during the Week 3 class. (2.5 points)

Then, create a table in Word that provides the mean, standard deviation, and the

maximum and minimum values for the five variables that you’ve selected. Do not

copy and paste the format of the output directly from Excel. Instead, organize

the descriptive stats in a concise table with a clear title and descriptive variable

names. See Table 1 for an example of what this table should look like.

3) In a short paragraph, describe the descriptive statistics table that you have

created. You should not talk about every number in the table, but rather, choose to

highlight some of the variables that you think are important in the data set. If there is

anything odd about the data (e.g. the mean is higher/lower than expected or there is

an unexpected min/max value, Kurtosis, and Skewness ), be sure to mention that in

the paragraph. See below for an example. (2.5 points)

Submit your assignment in a Word file and corresponding Excel file that includes

your data and generated descriptive statistics through Canvas by the deadline. To

get full credit, your Excel file needs to include the descriptive statistics table that you

run through the data analysis tool. If you do not submit your Excel file, you will

receive an automatic 2.5 point deduction. Your written explanations should also be

clear and be in complete sentences. (2.5 points)

IMPORTANT!!

When you draw graphs, please use different colors for changing curves.

As long as your curves are easy to distinguish, you may draw them by

hand or use the graphing tools in Word or Excel. You can search online.

Please do not submit graphs separately in Excel or PowerPoint files. Make

sure that all answers and graphs are included in a single Word document.

For those who can calculate equations from supply and demand

curve data points, feel free to use them to find exact equilibrium price and

quantity levels. If you don’t know how to calculate it, simply estimate the

approximate equilibrium price and quantity from your graph.