Chapter 3: Measurements, Mistakes & Understandings

Question 1

deliberate bias

Answer 1

a survey being conducted to support a certain cause phrase questions in a biased manner; wording of the question will indicate a desired answer

Question 2

unintentional bias

Answer 2

questions may be worded in such a way that the meaning is misinterpreted by a large percentage of the respondents

Question 3

desire to please

Answer 3

most survey respondents have a desire to please the person asking the question so they may respond to the questions in the manner that they think the asker is looking for

Question 4

asking the uninformed

Answer 4

people tend not to let other know when they are uninformed or misinformed to so they will likely answer question incorrectly

Question 5

unnecessary complexity

Answer 5

what the question and asking and what way the answer should be constructed should be clear and not open to interpretation

Question 6

ordering of questions

Answer 6

the ordering of questions can alter one’s response

Question 7

confidentiality & anonymity

Answer 7

the sample of people surveyed will provide certain response depending on whether or not they feel that their information and identity are protected

Question 8

open questions

Answer 8

a question in which the respondent are allowed to answer in their own words

Question 9

closed questions

Answer 9

a question in which the respondent must select an answer from a list of predetermined alternatives

Question 10

categorical variables

Answer 10

are those we can place into a category but that may not have any logical ordering. example: male or female

Question 11

ordinal variables

Answer 11

variables that have a natural ordering as “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree” or level of education

Question 12

nominal variables

Answer 12

To distinguish them from ordinal variables, categorical variables for which the categories do not have a natural ordering are sometimes called nominal variables.

Question 13

measurement/quantitative variables

Answer 13

are those for which we can record a numerical value and then order respondents according to those values.

Question 14

interval variable

Answer 14

is a measurement variable in which it makes sense to talk about differences, but not about ratios. example: temperature

Question 15

ratio variable

Answer 15

has a meaningful value of zero, and it makes sense to talk about the ratio of one value to another. example: pulse rate, speed

Question 16

discrete variable

Answer 16

variable is one for which you could actually count the possible responses (these variables are always reported in whole numbers). example: # of car accidents in a set period of time

Question 17

continuous variable

Answer 17

can be anything within a given interval. Age, for example, falls on a continuum.

Question 18

valid measurement

Answer 18

is one that actually measures what it claims to measure. To determine whether a measurement is valid, you need to know exactly what was measured.

Question 19

reliable measurement

Answer 19

is one that will give you or anyone else approximately the same result time after time when taken on the same object or individual.

Question 20

biased measurement

Answer 20

a measurement that is systematically off the mark in the same direction. For example: If you were trying to weigh yourself with a scale that was not satisfactorily adjusted at the factory and was always a few pounds under, you would get a biased view of your own weight.

Question 21

variability

Answer 21

measurements are likely to differ from one time to the

next or from one individual to the next because of unpredictable errors or discrepancies that are not readily explained.

Question 22

measurement error

Answer 22

The amount by which each measurement differs

from the true value

Question 23

natural variability

Answer 23

variability the results from the changes within the time period that the variable that is measured (unemployment rates, heights, blood pressure etc) or across different individuals within a sample size