C OLLECTING D ATA I: Q UANTITATIVE METHODS John Perry

O BJECTIVES Identify quantitative methods Demonstrate the use of quantitative methods Contrast the advantages and disadvantages of various quantitative measurements

Q UANTITATIVE V Q UALITATIVE Quantitative: involving the measurement of quantity or amount Qualitative: involving the measurement of quality

S TARTING WITH THE BASICS Variables Operational variables Hypotheses Complete Worksheet 1

T YPES OF VARIABLES Categorical / nominal Ordinal Interval level Ratio

C ATEGORICAL V ARIABLES Sorts people or things into categories based on common characteristics e.g. eye colour, gender The number of categories in each variable is known as the number of levels

O RDINAL V ARIABLES Placing things or people in an order Ranking Shortest to tallest, youngest to oldest

I NTERVAL V ARIABLES Assigning scores to people where the difference between scores is assumed consistent i.e. the difference between 2 and 3 is equal to the difference between 5 and 6 e.g. many psychological measures

R ATIO V ARIABLES Same as Internal level measurement but with a true zero point e.g. height, blood lactate

S OME EXAMPLES OF QUANTITATIVE DATA Physiological measures heart rate, blood pressure, weight, height, blood lactate Psychological measures Scores on questionnaires Let’s try some examples

E XAMPLES OF Q UESTIONNAIRES Sports Motivation Scale Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire Perceived Motivation Climate in Sport Questionnaire Competitive State Anxiety Inventory -2

S UMMARY What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative data? Give examples of quantitative methods What’s an independent variable? What’s a dependent variable? Explain the following: Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio