Statosphere - Let's Learn Stats!

 - by Dr. Prafulla Dikshit       (6 minutes read) 2.8   Types of Measures and tools In the last post, we talked about the four levels of measurement of the data we collect for our research purposes. However, there is an entirely different aspect of data collection, which is the type of measure or the way or means through which data is collected or measured. Such measures of data may typically include tools or tests used to measure, collect, or gauge data. Such tools or tests normally vary with the field of study, for example, in psychology, we may have several standard tests measuring personality traits, and the intelligence quotient, for certain questionnaires focusing on a certain aspect of personality. In the medical field, professionals, use instruments like a BP instrument to get blood pressure, a thermometer to measure the temperature, or an electrocardiogram (ECG) to measure several vital statistics of the heart, such as the heart rate,...

(6 minutes read)     - By Dr. Prafulla Dikshit 2.7   Four Levels of Measurement So far, we have seen how the continuity versus disjointedness of data points, can be the greatest differentiator between different types of data. We can also look at types of data from a measurement level perspective to get a very relevant view of data types. There are broadly four levels of measurement:             2.7.1  Nominal – A nominal level of data measurement is at the most a categorization. Importantly, the categories are not ordered . For example, if 'place of birth' is a variable we are interested in, the data we collect is nominal, since we may categorize the participants by place of birth, but we can't order it to say that this one, say London, or that, like Tokyo, is the best 'place of birth' and then another one, and then another and so on. Similarly, we can categorize people by race or color of skin but c...

 by Dr. Prafulla Dikshit     (6-8 minutes read)      2.6   Types of Data Now that we know something about data and statistics, let’s talk a little about the types of data. There are many different categorizations of data, which we will eventually study. However, at the most basic level, we can see data in terms of the characteristics we are trying to measure through the data. Thus, a broad categorization of the attributes of the population or the sample would give us different types of data. In statistics, there are specific terms for these characteristics. The characteristics of a population denote parameters , whereas the corresponding characteristics of a sample drawn from the given population are called statistics . Ideally, they may be measuring the same - basic attributes or properties, but their values will differ by the source (population or sample) from which the data for the same are drawn. Parameters are numbers that summa...