Discrete and Continuous Variables PDF

… LEARNING AS ONE NATION Expanded Project Prac. Res. 2_11 SHS LEARNING ACTIVITY Name:...

… LEARNING AS ONE NATION Expanded Project Prac. Res. 2_11 SHS LEARNING ACTIVITY Name: Score/Mark: Grade and Section: Date: Strand: ✓ STEM o o ABM o HUMSS o ICT (TVL Track) Subject: Practical Research 2 Type of Activity: o ✓ Concept Notes o Skills: Exercise/Drill o Illustration o Performance Task o Essay/Report o Others: Activity Title: Discrete and Continuous Variables Learning Target: To define and differentiate discrete from continuous variables To identify discrete and continuous variables of proposed research References: Essentials of Statistics for Behavioral Sciences, pp. 13-20; (Author, Title, Pages) M.C. Fabella (workshop notes on “Collaborative Research Methods”) Quantitative research measures numeric observations that can take on many values, or “variables”. For example, in a study measuring participants’ weights, the “weight” variable can have values as 40.0 kg, 39.0 kg, 45.5 kg, 34.5 kg, etc. Variables are either discrete or continuous. It is important to know which type your study’s variables are, because when you get to the analysis of the data, these two types utilize different statistical analytic procedures. Discrete variables are whole countable numbers that have only finite numbers between any two values (in Visayan, “wa’y bungkig”; in Tagalog, “buo, walang barya”). For example, when counting the number of words in text for analysis, it is specified that there is no ½ word or 0.5 of a word! There is no given value between two numbers, say, between 8 and 9. Other examples of discrete variables are: number of complaints; number of boxes, number of competitions, number of cubes, and so on. Continuous variables, on the other hand, are not discrete numbers or counts that are separate from one another. As the name implies, it can be continuously and infinitely divided into fractional parts. Examples are height, weight, distance, etc. Time is also a continuous variable. It can be measured as hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds, nanoseconds, ad infinitum, provided there is a measuring instrument accurate enough to measure its smallest unit. Vocabulary: 1. Explain “ad infinitum” in your own words. 2. What is the meaning and correct pronunciation of “finite”? Exercises: 1. Take note of the correct spelling of “continuous”. 2. In the following studies, identify whether variables are discrete or continuous: a. At the end of the day, an electronic store owner does a sales inventory. He wants to know how many more cellphones, laptops, and desktops were sold. b. A researcher wants to find out the performance of students of the DLP approach by comparing NCAE scores for the past five years.