Week 1 Discussion 2

Prepare: Review Chapters 1 and 2 in the course text and any assigned additional learning material. In addition, please go to pages 45-46 in your course text and review Exercise 5.

Reflect: The discussion we had about how to measure and describe variables was redundant in some parts (levels of measurement) but also new information in other parts. In particular, the ability to discuss and analyze how precise variables are, their central tendencies, and how dispersed they are is invaluable in our efforts to reduce measurement error and select the correct measures of the variables we are studying. The skills and knowledge learned today will be applied and re-applied multiple times in every political science research project you conduct.

Write: In your initial post of at least 250 words, review Exercise 5 on pages 45-46 and complete the following:

• State whether the statements below are true or false. Please explain each of your responses carefully.
  • The Barack Obama feeling thermometer has a positive skew.
  • The mean of the Hilary Clinton thermometer provides an accurate measure of central tendency.
  • Hilary Clinton’s ratings have a greater amount of variation than Barack Obama’s ratings.