Chapter 2: Reporting research, variables and measurement
Quizzes are available to test your understanding of the key concepts covered in each chapter. Click on the quiz below to get started.
1. Classify each of the following variables as either nominal or continuous.
- age
- gender
- height
- race
The correct answer is a) continuous b) nominal c) continuous d) nominal
2. A café owner decided to calculate how much revenue he gained from lattes each month. What type of variable would the amount of revenue gained from lattes be?
- Continuous
- Categorical
- Discrete
- Nominal
The correct answer is A. Continuous. This is because the amount of revenue gained from lattes would be a continuous variable. A continuous variable is one for which, within the limits of the variable ranges, any value is possible.
3. A café owner wanted to compare how much revenue he gained from lattes across different months of the year. What type of variable is ‘month’?
- Dependant
- Interval
- Categorical
- Continuous
The correct answer is C. Categorical. This is because months of the year are divided into distinct categories.
4. If a test is valid, what does this mean?
- The test will give consistent results.
- The test measures what it claims to measure.
- The test has internal consistency.
- The test measures a useful construct or variable.
The correct answer is B. The test measures what it claims to measure.
5. When questionnaire scores predict or correspond with external measures of the same construct that the questionnaire measures it is said to have:
- Factorial validity
- Ecological validity
- Content validity
- Criterion validity
The correct answer is D. Criterion validity. This is because criterion validity is a measure of how well a particular measure/questionnaire compares with other measures or outcomes (the criteria) that are already established as being valid. For example, IQ tests are often validated against measures of academic performance (the criterion).
