Chapter 3: "Defining, Measuring, & Manipulating Variables"
What properties does an ordinal scale have?
Identity and magnitude.
What properties does an interval scale have?
Identity, magnitude, and equal intervals.
What properties does a ratio scale have?
Identity, magnitude, equal intervals, and absolute zero.
What are physical measures?
Measures of bodily activity such as pulse or blood pressure that may be taken with a piece of equipment
What are behavioral measures?
Measures taken by carefully observing and recording behavior
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Distance between two locations?
Ratio
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Number of dollars in your wallet?
Ratio
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Number of hrs slept over the weekend?
Ratio
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Time it takes a student to make their be each morning?
Ratio
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Weight in grams?
Ratio
What is an operational definition?
A definition of a variable in terms of the operations (activities) a researcher uses to measure or manipulate it.
What is the equal intervals property?
A difference of 1 is the same amount throughout the entire scale
What is a test?
A measurement instrument used to assess individual differences in various content areas
What is reactivity?
A possible reaction by participants in which they act unnaturally because they know they are being observed
What is a ratio scale?
A scale in which, in addition to order and equal units of measurement, an absolute zero indicates an absence of the variable being measured.
What is the absolute zero property?
Assigning a score of zero indicates an absence of the variable being measured.
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Temperature in degrees Celsius on each day in July?
Interval
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Academic major?
Nominal
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Brand of coffee?
Nominal
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Gender or individuals?
Nominal
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Make of car?
Nominal
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Nationality of an individual?
Nominal
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Whether or not you trust a politician?
Nominal
Weight, measured as light, medium, or heavy?
Nominal
What is a nominal scale?
Objects or individuals are assigned to categories that have no numerical properties
What is an ordinal scale?
Objects or individuals are categorized, and the categories form a rank order along a continuum.
What is the property of identity?
Objects that are different receive different scores
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Likert scale ratings of feelings?
Ordinal
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Rankings of NFL teams?
Ordinal
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Ranks of participants in a beauty pageant?
Ordinal
On what scale of measurement does the following fall: Rated sweetness of a drink on a scale of 1 (sour) to 5 (sweet)?
Ordinal
What properties does a nominal scale have?
The least. Only identity.
What is the property of magnitude?
The ordering of numbers reflects the ordering of the variable.
What is an interval scale?
The units of measurement (intervals) between the numbers on the scale are all equal in sizes. This has an arbitrary zero point.
What are discrete variables?
Usually consist of whole number units or categories and are made up of chunks or units that are detached and distinct from one another
What are continuous variables?
Usually fall along a continuum and allow for fractional amounts
What are self-report measures?
Usually questionnaires or interviews that measure how people report that they act, think, or feel.