EXAMPLE 6 Qualitative or quantitative?

Some of the most widespread applications of statistical analysis occur in the business world. Managers examine patterns and trends in data, thereby hoping to increase profitability. Table 4 shows the five most active stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations), as reported by USA Today for June 3, 2014. (a) What are the elements and the variables of this data set? (b) Which variables are qualitative? Which are quantitative? (c) Provide the observation for Bank of America.

NASDAQ is an American stock exchange that includes many technology companies.
Table 1.5: Table 4 Most active stocks on NYSE and NASDAQ, June 3, 2014
Stock Exchange Last Volume Change
Quiksilver NYSE $3.41 59,328,858 −$2.38
Sirius XM NASDAQ $3.30 54,392,299 +$0.02
Bank of America NYSE $15.21 48,690,356 −$0.05
Newlead Holdings NASDAQ $0.76 46,703,983 −$0.19
Applied Materials NASDAQ $21.42 33,295,094 +$4.39

10

Solution

  1. The elements are the five most active stocks traded on the NYSE and NASDAQ on this day in 2014. The variables are as follows:
    • Exchange: the exchange where the stock was traded.
    • Last: the most recent trading price for the stock.
    • Volume: how many shares of the stock were traded that day.
    • Change: the change in share price (in dollars) between the opening price and the closing price that day.
  2. The exchange, because it can be categorized as either NYSE or NASDAQ, is qualitative. The other variables are quantitative.
  3. The observation for Bank of America includes the exchange and the set of the day's stock data for that company. Bank of America is traded on the NYSE. Its last share price was $15.21 per share, 48,690,356 shares of its stock were traded, and the price decreased by $0.05 per share.
Stock Exchange Last Volume Change
Bank of America NYSE $15.21 48,690,356 −$0.05

NOW YOU CAN DO

Exercises 14, 20, and 26.