Assignment
Data Analytics Using SPSS
Objectives of this assignment
•Review basic steps in preparing data for statistical analysis
oCreate dummy variables (for categorical and continuous variables)
aggregate data by groups using sum, mean, first or unique values
calculate and interpret descriptive statistics (minimum, maximum, mean, mode, median, standard deviation, variance)
oCreate and interpret graphical illustrations (histogram, scatterplot)
•Apply linear regression analysis
estimate linear regression model
interpret regression coefficients and fit measures o Plotting and reporting estimates
Software
SPSS
Dataset
Booking.com data (Please see the attachment)
1 Introduction
You are doing an internship with an online travel agency based in the Netherlands and you are being assigned to a team that is in the process of designing a new travel package that allows couples to spend a 1-night short getaway in Amsterdam. Given that last-minute travel is the up-and-coming trend for couple travelers, to accommodate this spontaneity, a key feature of this new travel package is that it provides the option for couples to make reservations for the package on a short notice. After spending several weeks brainstorming and researching on the different romantic last-minute activities that can be included in the travel package, the team is left with the accommodation options that will determine the notice period required for booking the travel package. Being the newbie (and also an intern) for the team, your task is to provide insights on an appropriate notice period based on a dataset that the team had gathered. Specifically, the team is interested in understanding the dynamics of the accommodation market in Amsterdam and factors that influence the availability of properties across the various accommodation options.
The dataset is at the notice period accommodation level, where 1 August 2018 is the date at which the search was conducted, and the accommodation options reflect properties in Amsterdam that are listed on Booking.com as of the search date.For more details on the data, please refer to Booking.com Data Dictionary 2020. (Please see the attachment)
Some general tips for Assignment:
•Use SPSS syntax whenever possible! It is easier, less prone to error and makes data manipulation and analysis more efficient. You can get a good idea on how to use SPSS syntax in the solutions for the practice questions.
•A term you should know to decipher some of the comments in the SPSS syntax file, i.e., GUI = Graphic User Interface. For those of you who feel more comfortable using the graphic user interface, I have included some accompanying videos and “directions” to illustrate how you should go about clicking on the buttons in the interface for some syntax commands. These “directions” are denoted by the “GUI:…” in the SPSS syntax file.
•To aggregate data by groups, first include the grouping variable in the “Break Variable(s)” button in SPSS. Then depending on the context of the question, select the aggregate function (i.e., by clicking on the “Function” button) to aggregate data using sum and mean values
•Always think about the aggregation level of the dataset and compare it to the aggregation level that the question requires!
•Don’t go crazy with decimal points! Providing your responses rounded off to 3 decimal points (i.e., 3 d. p.) is acceptable for this assignment (i.e., if applicable). However, please also take note that in certain circumstances, it will be more appropriate for you to round it off to a whole number instead. Also, don’t forget the units (e.g., km etc.) in your responses!
•In this assignment, we will use the significance level of 5% to evaluate the statistical significance of test results.
2 Sample Practice Questions
To provide you with some guidance for Assignment, below are some sample practice questions that will give you a sense of what to expect for the actual assignment. Consistent with the actual assignment, the practice questions can be classified into two broad categories – descriptive statistics and regression analysis. While the purpose of examining descriptive statistics is to obtain a more in-depth understanding of the characteristics of the dataset, regression analysis serves to examine the relationships between one or more of the variables within the dataset and in restricted circumstances, to infer causal relationships amongst these variables. (tip : You should read through Appendix A: Dataset and/or the Booking.com Data Dictionary) to get an in-depth understanding of the dataset before attempting the sample practice questions.)
The solutions to the sample practice questions are provided in Appendix B: Solutions to Sample Practice Questions of this document.
Descriptive Statistics
1. Original aggregation level: Notice period accommodation level
a. How many unique accommodation options are there in total? (tip: You should consider all notice periods.)
b.Which is the notice period with the least amount of unique accommodation options left? (tip : Remember to remove accommodation options with no rooms left! Also, note that rooms and accommodation options have different
meanings.)
c.Amongst the accommodation options that are available for the notice period that you have identified in 1b, what is the average number of people who are also looking at the accommodation at the time of the search? (tip : See tip for 1b.)
d.Relatedly, amongst the accommodation options that are available for the notice period that you have identified in 1b, what is the variation in the number of people who are also looking at the accommodation at the time of the search from the
mean? (tip : Think about the definitions of mean, standard deviation and variance. Also, see tip for 1b.)
2.Derived aggregation level: Notice period (tip : Depending on the context of the question, you would need to aggregate the data to the notice period level either by taking the sum or by average values.)
a.Create and interpret the scatterplot of the number of accommodation options with free cancellation for the cheapest room available per notice period; are the results of the scatterplot within your expectations?
3b.Create the scatterplot of the review ratings of accommodation options per notice period; what can you conclude from the scatterplot? Please provide your interpretation of the scatterplot and discuss any managerial insights/implications that you can draw from your interpretation of the scatterplot.
3.Derived aggregation level: Accommodation level (tip : Given the context of the following questions, you should aggregate the data to the accommodation level by the average values to avoid double counting.)
a.which accommodation option(s) has the least number of reviews and the lowest review rating? Please explain how you arrive at your answer. (tip : An accommodation with no reviews will naturally not have any review ratings. As such, for this question, we are not interested in these accommodation options.)
b.How many accommodation options are located in Oud Zuid?
c.Create the histogram of the review ratings of accommodation options by star rating; what can you conclude from the histogram? (tip : Note that star ratings are not applicable for apartment-type accommodation options.)
d.What is the mean, minimum and maximum distance to town for accommodation options located in Oud-West? (tip : What is the unit for measuring distance to town? If you are unsure, look at Appendix A and/or the data dictionary again and provide this unit in your response.)
