Below are brief descriptions of how researchers measured a variable. For each situation, determine the level of measurement of the variable and whether it is continuous or discrete.
a. Sex. Respondents were asked to select a category from the following list:
_____ Male _____ Female
b. Honesty. Subjects were observed as they passed by a spot on campus where an apparently lost wallet was lying. The wallet contained money and complete identification. Subjects were classified into one of the following categories:
_____ Returned the wallet with the money.
_____ Returned the wallet but kept the money.
_____ Did not return the wallet.
c. Social class. Subjects were asked about their family situation when they were 16 years old.
Was their family:
_____ Very well off compared to other families?
_____ About average?
_____ Not so well off?
d. Education. Subjects were asked how many
years of schooling they and each parent had completed.
e. Sex integration on campus. Students were observed during lunchtime at the cafeteria for
a month. The number of students sitting with students of the opposite sex was counted for each meal period.
f. Number of children. Subjects were asked:
“How many children have you ever had?
Please include any that may have passed away.”
g. Student seating patterns in classrooms.
On the first day of class, instructors noted where each student sat. Seating patterns were remeasured every two weeks until the end of the semester. Each student was classified as
_____ same seat as last measurement;
_____ adjacent seat;
_____ different seat, not adjacent;
_____ absent.
h. Physicians per capita. The number of practising physicians was counted in each of 50 cities, and the researchers used population data to compute the number of physicians per capita.
i. Physical attractiveness. A panel of 10 judges rated each of 50 photos of a sample of males and females for physical attractiveness on a scale from 0 to 20 with 20 being the highest score.
j. Number of accidents. The number of traffic accidents for each of 20 busy intersections in a city was recorded. Also, each accident was rated as
_____ minor damage, no injuries;
_____ moderate damage, personal injury requiring hospitalization;
_____ severe damage and injury.