Lesson 1 (Chapter 6): Measuring Data: How to gather data for analysis

Week 5

ways to measure and collect data

• direct observation

• experiments

• surveys!

  • clear and concise

  • written for the levels of measurement desired

  • categorical variables:

    • options are exhaustive (other option!)

    • options are mutually exclusive (one possible answer)

    • ranked categories have clearly defined levels

  • scale variables:

    • unit of measurement is given

    • data is not condense into ranges or ranked categories

ratio survey questions

ex: what is your weight in pounds?

(best, most specific type of questions)

interval survey questions

ex. on a scale of 1-10, 1 being not at all satisfied and 10 being extremely satisfied, how satisfied are you with the program?

• need scale 10 or larger

ordinal survey questions (low to high)

• on a scale of 1-5, 1 being not at all satisfied and 5 being extremely satisfied, how satisfied are you with the program?

  • not at all satisfied

  • somewhat satisfied

  • moderately satisfied

  • very satisfied

  • extremely satisfied

ordinal survey questions (negative to positive)

• on a scale of 1-5, 1 being very unsatisfied and 5 being very satisfied, how satisfied are you with the program

  • very unsatisfied

  • somewhat unsatisfied

  • neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

  • somewhat satisfied

  • very satisfied

nominal survey questions

• what is your major?

  • heathcare (ex. nursing, public health)

  • business (ex. administration, accounting)

  • STEM

  • art (ex. fine arts, theater)

  • social science

  • theology

  • other: __________