In this exercise, you will once again use the States data set, this time to analyze changes in the level of poverty between 2000 and 2009. We will use the Descriptives command to generate output.

● Find and click the SPSS icon on your desktop.

● Load the States data set.

● From the menu bar across the top of the SPSS window, click Analyze, Descriptive Statistics, and Descriptives.

● In the list of variables, find FamPoor00 (the percentage of families below the poverty line in each state in 2000) and FamPoor09 (the percentage of families below the poverty line in 2009). Click the arrow to move the variable names into the box on the right.

● Click the Options tab and check the box to select the Range. Click Continue and then click OK.

● OPTIONAL: To get boxplots for these variables:

● Click Graphs, Legacy Dialogs, and Boxplot.

● On the “Boxplot” window, check “Summaries of separate variables” and then click Define.

● Find Fampoor00 and Fampoor09 in the list of variables, and click the arrow to move the variable names into the “Boxes Represent” box.

● Click OK.

Write a paragraph describing the changes in family poverty between 2000 and 2009. Be sure to discuss central tendency and dispersion separately, and clearly identify each statistic.

(OPTIONAL: Include an analysis of the boxplots.) It may be helpful to model your paragraph on one of the discussions presented earlier in this chapter.