It’s common in statistical ana
It’s common in statistical analysis to modify categoricalvariables by pooling categories together, or to create categoricalvariables by breaking a numerical variable down into ranges. Forexample, in the lecture for section 6.2, we pool three categoriesinto one so that our variable has only two categories(success/failure); or, in a question on the midterm, we treated”income” as a categorical variable by grouping observations intoranges such as
For your post this week, propose either:
- a categorical variable with several categories that could begrouped together
- a numerical variable that could be treated as a categoricalvariable by creating ranges
In either case, propose a research or survey question whoseanswer might appear differently based on the way that thecategorical variables are set up. (For instance, a question onspending habits might change based on how income ranges are groupedtogether, or a political question might be answered differentlybased on how education levels are grouped.) What differences mightyou see based on the grouping? If your start is a numericalvariable, are there any special values that might be important ifincluded in one category or another?
Answer:
Let’s say we propose a research question that:
Is political learning from news media moderated byone’s education level?
So, here political learning will be measured by anumeric variable and education level will be a independent variablewhich will be categoried into different groups. Now, the answercould appear differently if we categorise the education level intothe following manners:
1. Education Levels: Literate or Illiterate
2. Education Levels: School Level, Bachelor Level orPostgraduate level
Hence, we could arrive at a different answer on the basis of howwe group the above variable. We could come to a conclusion abouthow studies affect the political learning OR how the level ofdegrees of an individual affect the political learnings.
Now Let’s propose a research question that:
Self-motivation and self-awareness are related to the income ofan individual
Now the result of the above research question could differ onhow we have grouped the income variable. We could have done it inthe following ways:
1. Low, Medium and High
2. Below Poverty, Low, Lower middle, Upper middle and High
Hence, you could get different results if you group the variablein a different way. This depends on what kind of a result youwant.
"Our Prices Start at $11.99. As Our First Client, Use Coupon Code GET15 to claim 15% Discount This Month!!"
