Question

For each of the following items from a public-opinion survey, indicate the level of measurement. a. In what country were you born? b. What is your age? c. How many years of school have you completed? d. What is your occupation? e. If you were asked to use one of these four names for your social class, in which would you say you belonged? Upper Middle Working Lower f. What is your grade-point average? \(\mathrm{g} .\) What is your major? h. The only way to deal with the drug problem is to legalize all drugs. Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly disagree i. What is your astrological sign? j. How many brothers and sisters do you have?

Short answer

a. Nominal; b. Ratio; c. Ratio; d. Nominal; e. Ordinal; f. Ratio; g. Nominal; h. Ordinal; i. Nominal; j. Ratio.

Step-by-step solution

- Determine the level of measurement for country of birth

Determine which level of measurement is used for the question 'In what country were you born?' This is a nominal level of measurement because it categorizes responses without any order or ranking.

- Determine the level of measurement for age

Determine which level of measurement is used for the question 'What is your age?' This is a ratio level of measurement since age is a continuous variable that allows for a meaningful zero point, indicating the absence of age.

- Determine the level of measurement for years of completed schooling

Analyze the question 'How many years of school have you completed?' which is also a ratio level of measurement because the number of years is a continuous variable with a true zero point.

- Determine the level of measurement for occupation

Analyze the question 'What is your occupation?' which is a nominal level of measurement as it classifies data into distinct categories without a meaningful order.

- Determine the level of measurement for social class

Determine which level of measurement is used for the question 'To which social class do you belong?' with response options of Upper, Middle, Working, or Lower. This is an ordinal level of measurement because the categories have a meaningful order.

- Determine the level of measurement for GPA

Analyze the question 'What is your grade-point average?' which is considered a ratio level of measurement because GPA is a continuous variable, and a zero GPA represents the absence of grade points.

- Determine the level of measurement for major

Determine which level of measurement is used for the question 'What is your major?' which is a nominal level of measurement as it groups data into distinct categories without a meaningful order.

- Determine the level of measurement for opinion on legalization of drugs

Analyze the statement 'The only way to deal with the drug problem is to legalize all drugs' with response options such as Strongly agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, Strongly disagree. This represents an ordinal level of measurement because the responses have a meaningful order.

- Determine the level of measurement for astrological sign

Evaluate the question 'What is your astrological sign?' which is a nominal level of measurement because it categorizes data without any order or ranking.

- Determine the level of measurement for number of siblings

Analyze the question 'How many brothers and sisters do you have?' This is a ratio level of measurement as the number of siblings is a continuous variable with a true zero point.

Key concepts

Nominal Level

The nominal level of measurement is the simplest form of measurement. It involves categorizing data into distinct groups where there is no inherent order. For example, when asked 'In what country were you born?' respondents are placing themselves into different categories (countries) without any implied hierarchy or ranking among these categories. Another example is 'What is your astrological sign?' Here, astrological signs are categories that don’t have a ranking order. Variables with a nominal level of measurement are usually analyzed using categorical data analysis techniques. They are suitable for questions where only names or labels are required, and where no quantitative data is involved.

Ordinal Level

The ordinal level of measurement deals with data that have a meaningful order, but the intervals between the values may not be consistent or known. This type of measurement allows us to rank order the items. For example, when asked 'To which social class do you belong?' with response options like Upper, Middle, Working, or Lower, the categories imply a specific order from higher to lower. Similarly, 'The only way to deal with the drug problem is to legalize all drugs' with responses such as Strongly agree, Agree, Undecided, Disagree, Strongly disagree indicates a level of agreement or disagreement in a systematic order. However, the exact difference between these responses isn't measurable. Ordinal data can be analyzed using non-parametric statistics which do not assume normal distribution.

Ratio Level

The ratio level of measurement is the most informative. It involves quantitative data with an absolute zero point, which allows for the calculation of ratios. For instance, questions like 'What is your age?' or 'How many brothers and sisters do you have?' rely on the ratio level of measurement since these values can have true zero points, meaning the absence of the quantity being measured. Age can be 0 years, indicating no age, and the number of siblings can be 0, indicating none. 'How many years of school have you completed?' and 'What is your grade-point average?' also use ratio measurements because when there’s a zero, it shows an absence (e.g., zero years of schooling or a GPA of zero). Ratios like twice as old or twice as many siblings make sense with ratio data. Statistical techniques such as correlation, regression, and measures of central tendency can be applied to these data types.

Public-Opinion Survey

A public-opinion survey is a method used to collect information about people’s beliefs, thoughts, and values on various topics. Surveys are often composed of questions designed to gauge opinions, experiences, or behaviors of a population. For example, in the given survey question 'The only way to deal with the drug problem is to legalize all drugs' with responses ranging from Strongly agree to Strongly disagree, the survey is capturing a range of opinions. Public opinion surveys often use different levels of measurement such as nominal, ordinal, and sometimes ratio. These surveys can help inform policy, understand social issues, and track changes in public attitudes over time. It's essential to design surveys with clear and unbiased questions to gather reliable data.