1. Problem Set #11 [Scattergrams Not Updated for 2008]

2. Common Problems
Simply using the wrong data for the variables referred to.
TURN [Turnout] (or GDP) for “President’s re-election performance.”
POP [Pres. Approval] for “President’s re-election performance.”
Using untransformed data that does not measure variable referred to.
D2PC needs to be transformed one way to get INCUMBENT POPULAR VOTE PERCENT.
D2PC needs to be transformed another way to get CLOSENESS (of elections).

3. Common Problems (cont.)
By convention, the INDEPENDENT Variable the HORIZONTAL Variable, and the DEPENDENT Variable is mode the VERTICAL variable.
This convention for scattergrams is more important than the similar convention for crosstabulations.
In some charts (especially those [apparently] produced by Excel), YEAR OF ELECTION somehow became the horizontal variable.
So charts plotted the value of individuals variables over time (rather than the association between pairs of variables).
Label points (by ELECTION YEAR).
Make scattergram frame fit the data.