style="font-size:15px;"> 7 What advantage does an interval scale have in comparison with an ordinal scale?8 Distinguish between a continuous and a discrete variable.
9 The type of exercise that Ethan does most often is running, Arnold does yoga, and Jill takes kickboxing classes. What scale of measurement would best classify these variables?
10 You are conducting a study on social anxiety in males and females. You decide to classify your subjects as having either social anxiety or not having social anxiety. You then give them a question with a rating scale of −7 (very anxious) to 7 (very calm). They are then placed in a social situation, and the amount of time it takes for them to leave the situation is recorded. Identify the four variables in this study and the scales of measurement that each is using.
Answers
1 RatioNominalRatio
2 RatioRatioInterval or ordinal (per debate on measurement)
3 A nominal scale is one that classifies categories.
4 Nominal scales are unable to explain rank or order.
5 An interval scale lacks a true zero point, whereas a ratio scale has a true zero point. The presence of a true zero indicates that it is possible to have a complete absence of the trait.
6 It means that it is possible to have a complete lack of the trait being studied.
7 An interval scale enables you to measure the exact distance between two scores.
8 Continuous variables have values that can fall anywhere on the scale. Discrete variables have distinct values, and a value cannot fall between the values.
9 Nominal
10 Nominal—Male/Female; Nominal—Social anxiety/Not socially anxious; Interval or ordinal—Rating scale; Ratio—Time in a social encounter.
Multiple-Choice Questions
1 If you were interested in measuring the salary of teachers, what is the highest order scale you could use?NominalOrdinalIntervalRatio
2 You are interested in studying depression. You obtain a sample of 100 people and divide them into the following categories: Depressed and Not depressed. These categories are an example ofa discrete variable with an ordinal scale.a continuous variable with an ordinal scale.a discrete variable with a nominal scale.a continuous variable with a nominal scale.
3 You are interested in measuring the sizes of amoebas; however, the ruler on your microscope has broken and you are no longer able to measure them in a proper unit of measurement. As an alternative, you decide to classify them as small, medium, and large. It would be impossible for an amoeba to fall between categories. This scale is an example ofa discrete variable with an ordinal scale.a continuous variable with an ordinal scale.a discrete variable with an interval scale.a continuous variable with an interval scale.
4 You obtain a score of 100 on a statistics aptitude test and scores are reported in whole points. Your upper real limit (UL) and lower real limit (LL) are as follows:UL = 100, LL = 99.5UL = 100.5, LL = 99.5UL = 101, LL = 99UL = 99.5, LL = 100
5 The real limits of a scale that ranges from 1 to 7 and are reported in whole points areUL = 1, LL = 7UL = 1.5, LL = 6.5UL = 0, LL = 8UL = 0.5, LL = 7.5
6 You have created a scale measuring anxiety with the following scale: None, A little bit, Moderate, A lot. Your scale is ______.ordinalintervalratioordinal or interval (per debate on measurement)
7 A chef is developing a feedback card to determine if people like his food. He creates a card that provides people with an option to check a box representing that they either enjoyed the food or disliked the food. What type of scale is this?NominalOrdinalIntervalRatio
8 (Refer to Question 7.) The chef is upset that almost 50% of those who completed the cards checked the “disliked” box. He decides to give his customers more options to choose from to get a better understanding of their opinion. His new scale ranges from −5 to +5. What type of scale is this?NominalOrdinalIntervalOrdinal or interval (per debate on measurement)Ratio
Multiple-Choice Answers
1 D
2 C
3 A
4 B
5 D
6 D
7 A
8 D
Module Quiz
1 In a marathon, Katelyn was placed first, while Patrick was placed 50th. Is Katelyn 50 times as fast as Patrick? Why or why not?
2 You are interested in obtaining the following information from the class. List the best scale of measurement for each:Favorite movieGrade in last math classSelf-rating on a 0 to 10 scale of confidence for statistics
3 Which scale would be considered the lowest level of measurement?NominalOrdinalIntervalRatio
4 An ordinal scaleranks scores in order on a continuous scaleplaces scores in discrete ranked values without equal distance between the values for the trait being measuredranks scores in order, and the distance between adjacent ranks is equalpossesses a true zero point
5 You are asked by a professor to develop a grading scheme for his or her next class. Develop a separate grading scheme for a nominal scale, an ordinal scale, an interval scale, and a ratio scale.
Quiz Answers
1 Katelyn is not 50 times as fast. You cannot determine this type of information from an ordinal measurement scale.
2 NominalIntervalOrdinal or interval, per debate on measurement
3 A
4 B
5 Answers will vary.
Module 3 Frequency and Percentile Tables
Learning Objectives
Identify the utility of presenting data in a table
Determine how to convert scores to frequency tables
Use a frequency table to create a relative frequency or percentage table
Convert data to a grouped frequency table
Find percentiles and percentile ranks from tabled data
Module Summary
Frequency tables present data in an organized manner that enables specific information to be retrieved efficiently. Through the use of a frequency table, you could easily obtain an estimate of how many participants obtained a
