ST 445         
 Homework #4a      

 due Monday, 18 February 2008

 Your assignment, distributed during class (Monday)
 is to write a raw data file and a description of these
 data.  You will get one of three types of problems to
 do, and for part (b), someone else will be reading your 
 description and your data file to do some simple analysis.

 My description of the requirements will be intentionally vague,
 since rarely can someone predict all of the ways data
 might be used.
  
 In each case, decide how you want to put the data into a flat,
 ascii file -- from whether to put all of the information of an
 observation on one record or several records.  Your
 description should be clear enough that someone could 
 read your description and write the appropriate SAS code.
 
 The two types of problems:

 1) Some of you will get a listing of classified ads for a
    particular type of used auto or SUV.  Consider each
    vehicle to be an observation and record all of the info
    that you may find useful for someone else looking to buy
    a used car.  Notice that some ads give lots of info, like
    the transmission and extras while others don't -- you'll
    have some data that you will decide how to code as missing.
 
 2) Some of you may get copies of summaries from an MLS real
    estate book of houses for sale in Raleigh in August of 1997.
    Include the information that would be useful for someone
    looking to buy a house, such as price, location, number of
    rooms, heated sq ft, etc. 

 Make sure your files are available on Monday, so that someone
 else can read your file and finish their work by the following
 Friday.  Write your files in the subdirectory named class and 
 follow this nomenclature: 

    userid.des         description of the data
    userid.dat         raw data file

 For reference, one of the assignments I gave years ago was
 described as follows:
    Some of you will get a copy of several gasoline credit
    card bills, with information about how much gasoline
    I bought, where, when, and how much it cost.  Later on
    I would like to include some other information to assess
    how much it costs to run my car.  Here, an observation 
    is a purchase.
 and the result (of my efforts) given in the files
    drj.des
    drj.dat

  Some further notes on Homework #4a
  
  1) The simplest method to put the files in the 'class' directory
    is to bring a floppy or jump drive and copy the file to the
    directory.
     J:\unity.ncsu.edu\lockers\dept\stat\courses\monahan\st445\class

  2) If you make a mistake, then create another file
    by adding 1 (or 2 for your third try) to the end
    of its name:  drj.dat for the first try, drj1.dat
    for the second try, etc.

  3) To make it easier for the next person to read 
    your file, be sure to avoid anything but text:
     - avoid tabs
     - avoid special characters
     - use the simplest editor available (e.g. notepad, vi)
    The goal is to create a flat file that can be moved
    to another environment and read just as easily.

  4) Include enough information to make the next person's
    job easier to write about something interesting.