Nominal Data from a TV Program
Watching the TV program about different nationalities in Pakistan, I noticed that their names constitute nominal data. The context was the traveling of a TV program team through various regions of the country. The meaning of the data is that in Pakistan, there are numerous people with separate cultures and origins.
The data sample was limited to the groups that the team met, which represents descriptive information. The population of the data is the entire population of Pakistan. The data can be generalized to other countries, creating a hypothesis of numerous people existing in different countries. Official statistics were missing from the information, which made me think about the reliability of the data.
Ordinal Data from a TikTok Video
This week, I saw a TikTok video about the most difficult languages to learn, which is an example of ordinal data. The video did not give any context, only a list of languages. The meaning that was communicated is that there are more and less difficult languages to learn in the world.
The sample was extremely limited, as no other languages were presented on the list. The population of the data is all the other languages, but the inferential information is questionable. Any information on the analytical tools used was missing, which made me question the sources of data.
Interval Data from a Chemistry Article
I read about the boiling points of different elements, which is an example of interval data. The context included an explanation of the different mechanisms behind the process. The sample and population included all the elements of the periodic table. Inferential information provides a conclusion that the boiling point depends on the intramolecular forces, which can be applied to all the elements. The data was complete, without any missing information, which made me think about the necessity of using data to answer the specific research questions.
Ratio Data from a Statistical Report
I read about the age ranges of different generation groups, which represent ratio data. The article discussed differences in generation groups for people of various birth years (A Generational Portrait, 2022). The message was that generations have specific time boundaries.
The sample included millions of people of different age and gender groups in the Canadian population. Although the population was missing, inferential data allowed making a hypothesis about the generation range for other countries. The data made me realize that the size of the sample can affect the results of data analysis.
Reference
A generational portrait of Canada’s aging population from the 2021 Census. (2022). Statistics Canada. Web.