PSY 2106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Categorical Variable, Line Graph, Dependent And Independent Variables

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 2106
• Professor: Heather Poole

Document Summary

For categorical (nominal or ordinal) independent variables only. Independent variable = x axis, dependent = y. Scale can be altered to display the data more efficiently. Histogram has the possible range of scores on the x axis. For continuous data; never for categorical data; the segments between point have implied meaning. There must be something connecting the data points. Each point is a participant or group. Each participant is measured on both variable. Allows us to see every single data point. In the other two the data = collapsed/averaged. As long as there is a relationship. But sometimes it is hard to see which wedge is bigger if they are close. Numbers are also hard to see exact. Makes people work hard to get the information they want. How to read a graph: identify what is plotted on each axis, identify the iv and dv, look for patterns in the data.