1. Types of question and types of variable Training session 4 GAP Toolkit 5 Training in basic drug abuse data management and analysis

2. Objectives Define a range of classifications for questions and variables Discuss the use of levels of measurement in defining variables in SPSS

3. Types of question Closed, open “Factual” and attitudinal

4. Closed questions The respondent selects from a list of mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive answers The answers are pre-coded

5. Example Has the patient been in treatment prior to this episode?  Yes (1)  No (0)

6. Example In the last 30 days, how many times (if any) have you had 5 or more drinks in a row?  None  1  2  3-5  6-9  10 or more

7. “Other” Category An option on all but the simplest closed questions Ensures the list of options are exhaustive Allows flexibility in response Post-coded rather than pre-coded

8. Example Type of centre:  Specialized treatment centre  Therapeutic community  General hospital  Psychiatric hospital/unit  Other (specify): …………………………..

9. Dichotomous questions A subset of closed questions There are only two possible answers The answers are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive

10. Examples 1. Gender:  Male  Female 2. Has the patient been in treatment prior to this episode?  Yes  No

11. Multiple-response questions The question allows more than one response The categories are not mutually exclusive Frequently, a grouping of dichotomous closed questions

12. Example Mode of ingestion of primary substance (X all that apply):  Swallow  Smoke  Snort  Inject  Other (specify): ……………………………….

13. Likert Scales A type of closed question Designed to measure attitudes

14. Example Do you disapprove of people doing each of the following: –Trying marijuana once or twice  Don’t approve  Disapprove  Strongly disapprove  Don’t know –Smoking marijuana occasionally (options repeated)

15. Open questions There are no constraints on the respondent’s answer The answers cannot be predicted before the questionnaires are presented The answers must be coded after the questionnaires are collected

16. Examples 1.Q30. Which new drugs or new patterns of use have been reported? 2.Q13. Indicate primary substance of abuse, that is, the most frequently used 3.Other (specify): ……………………..

17. Exercise: discussion Do Open or Closed questions appear more frequently in the questionnaires used by your specific focal group? Give reasons/possible explanations for these choices.

18. Response types Factual/attitudinal Direct/indirect

19. Types of variable Levels of measurement Types of variation Categorical vs. continuous

20. Levels of measurement Nominal Ordinal Interval Ratio

21. Nominal The data describe an attribute The set of possible values the variable can contain are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive categories The categories cannot be objectively measured against each other

22. Examples: nominal data Gender: male and female Location: urban and rural Religion: Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jew Race: white, black, coloured, mixed Referral source: self, employer, court

23. Ordinal The data are broken into categories that can be ranked It is not possible to quantify the difference between the categories

24. Example: ordinal Level of education:  None  Primary  Secondary  Tertiary

25. Interval The data are measured on a continuous scale, not simply ranked The units of measurement are constant There is no absolute 0

26. Example: interval Temperature: –Fahrenheit or Celsius Measured on a continuous scale No absolute 0

27. Ratio The data are measured on a continuous scale, not simply ranked The units of measurement are constant There is an absolute 0

28. Examples: ratio Age Income Temperature on the Kelvin Scale

29. Types of variation Nominal: equal categories Ordinal: ordered categories Interval and ratio: a continuous scale

30. Types of variation Qualitative: nominal Quantitative: interval and ratio Quantitative and qualitative: ordinal

31. Exercise: identify the levels of measurement Name of treatment centre Referral source Gender Age Home language Region of permanent residence Highest level of education completed Employment status Current marital status How old was the patient when they first began using drugs regularly?

32. Level of measurement in SPSS Nominal Ordinal Scale

33. Exercise: measure Return to Ex1.sav and set the level of measurement for the variables ID, DRUG, AGE and COND Save the file

34. Summary Question types: –Closed/Open –Factual/Attitudinal Variable types: –Levels of measurement –Discrete (categorical)/continuous –Quantitative/qualitative