Graziano & Raulin
Research Methods (9th edition)
Describing the Sample
Nominal Data
The appropriate descriptive statistic for a nominal data is to compute frequencies in each of the categories, which can be converted to percentages by dividing by the total number of participants and multiplying each of these proportions by 100. See Chapter 5 for details on how to perform this process. It is permissible to compute the mode (the most frequently occurring score). For example, if one were computing the frequencies of teams represented in the Baseball Hall of Fame, it would be reasonable to state which team had the most players in the Hall of Fame. However, reporting just that information will ignore most of the other information that would be included in a frequency distribution, such as which team has the second most players represented or which team has the fewest players represented.
Are there other demographic variables that
should be summarized and/or tested?
If so, click the RETURN button.
Otherwise, Click the PROCEED button.