Elem. Statistical Methods Lesson 1.2 Data Collection

Lesson 1.2 Data Collection ● Qualitative Data consists of labels or descriptions of traits ○ Descriptions (Qualities) ● Quantitative Data consists of counts or measurements ○ Numbers (Quantities) ● Continuous v Discrete Data ○ Continuous- quantitative data that can take on any value in a given interval and are usually measurements ■ Are measurements ○ Discrete ■ can take on only particular values and cannot take on the values in between ■ Counts ● The four levels of measurement ○ Nominal ■ Qualitative data ■ Labels or names ■ WE CANNOT measure labels or names therefore no calculations can be performed at a nominal level ■ Labeling or categorizing level ○ Ordinal ■ Natural order, such as a ranking ■ Qualitative Date ■ Excellent/Average/Poor answer choices ○ Interval ■ Quantitative ■ can also be ordered ■ differences between temperatures could be calculated and interpreted ■ Specifically, if Phoenix has an average temperature of 100 but Stockholm has an average temp of 50, then we can say Phoenix is hotter than Stockholm ■ 0 does not mean the absence of, but rather a placing on a scale ● Ex. 0 degrees does not mean no heat, it means that you are experiencing cold temperatures ○ Ratio ■ Highest level of measurement ■ Zero means the ABSENCE of something ● ● Vocabulary ● Qualitative Data: consists of labels or descriptions of traits ● Quantitative Data: consists of counts or measurements ● Nominal: Labeling or categorizing the things ○ names ● Ordinal: have all the attributes of nominal data, but, in addition, they also have a natural order ○ order ● Interval: 0 is a placeholder ● Ratio: 0 means the absence of something Practice Problems 1. Qualitative or Quantitative a. Shades of red paint in a home improvement store i. Qualitative data because shades of red paint cannot be measured in terms of amount b. Rankings of the most popular paint colors for the season i. Qualitative data because rankings are numeric not measurements or counts c. Amount of red primary dye necessary to make one gallon of each shade of red paint i. Quantitative because it is the AMOUNT OF DYE d. Numbers of paint choices available at several stores i. Quantitative data because they must be COUNTED 2. Continuous or Discrete a. Temperatures in Fahrenheit of cities in South Carolina i. They can take on any level of precision based on the thermometer used, so these are continuous data b. Numbers of houses in various neighborhoods in a city i. Discrete because the number of houses can be counted c. Numbers of elliptical machines in every YMCA in your state i. Discrete because numbers are counted d. Heights of doors i. Continuous because height can be measured 3. Nominal Level of Measuring a. Suppose all students in a statistics class were asked what pizza topping is their favorite. Explain why these data are at the nominal level of measurement i. These are nominal because pizza toppings are just names. Pepperoni or ham cannot be counted b. Suppose instead that you wish to know the number of students whose favorite pizza topping is sausage. Explain why this data value is not at the nominal level of measurement. i. Numbers are counted 4. Nominal V Ordinal a. The seat numbers on your concert tickets, such as A23 and A24 i. Ordinal because they are in a specific order b. The genres of the music performed at the original Grammys in 1959. i. Nominal because it is just genres in no particular order 5. Consider the ages in whole years of US presidents when they were inaugurated. What level of measurement are these data? a. ages of US presidents are measurable, can be ordered, and differences between data entries are meaningful. Therefore, ages are at the ratio level of measurement. In contrast to Example 1.2.5, involving birth years, you can be twice as old as someone else. 6. Overview of Chapter Determine the following classifications for the given data sets: qualitative or quantitative; discrete, continuous, or neither; and level of measurement. 1. Finishing times for runners in the Labor Day 10 K race a. Quantitative- meaning to the numbers not just placeholders b. Continuous- finishing time is a measurement c. Ratio- 0 is the absence of racing 2. Colors contained in a box of crayons a. Qualitative- colors are labels b. Qualitative data cannot be be discrete or continuous c. Nominal because qualitative means labeling, colors are only labels 3. Boiling points (on the Celsius scale) for various caramel candies a. Quantitative- you can measure the boiling point of various substances b. Continuous- the boiling point is a measurement c. Interval because 0 is not the absence of temperature 4. The top ten Spring Break destinations as ranked by USA Today a. Qualitative- Top TEN! b. Neither c. Ordinal because they are rating 5. Letter grades on a math exam are an example of which type of data? a. Qualitative 6. Amounts of yearly rainfall in Miami over the last 5 years are an example of which type of data? a. Quantitative 7. Number of class meetings in a term at various schools a. Ratio 8. Categories of hurricanes that have hit the Atlantic coast a. Ordinal- it is a rating