Question

• Give one example (not listed in the textbook) for each scale of measurement (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio).
• Come up with a relationship that you think exists between 2 variables. How would you study that using a correlation study?
• How would you study the relationship from b. using an experiment? Make sure to identify the independent and dependent variables in your study.

Answer 1

From the given information,

Measurement: Measurement is the process of systematically assigning numbers to objects and their properties to facilitate the use of mathematics in studying and describing objects and their relationships.

Scale of measurement:

1. Nominal Variables: Nominal variables allows for qualitative classification. For example: Gender, Race, Color and City.

2. Ordinal Variables: Ordinal scales are typically measure of non-numeric concepts like satisfaction, happiness, discomfort , etc.

3. Interval Variable: Time is a good example of interval scale.

4. Ratio: Good variables of ratio are height and weight.

Relationships between variables: Regardless of their type, two or more variables are related if in a sample, the values of those variables are distributed in a consistent manner. In other words, the variables are related if their values systematically correspond to each other for these observations. For example: Gender and WCC would be considered to be related if both males had high WCC and most females low WCC, or vice-versa. Height is related to weight because typically tall individuals are heavier than short ones; IQ is related to the number of errors in a test, if people with higher IQs make fewer errors.