Statistics on slow loris behaviour and ecology: Week 11

 

Labelled Variables Grid  (Figure 1 - Slow Loris)

 

Variable Type	Classification
Observer	Qualitative - Nominal
Substrate Size1	Quantitative -Discrete
Behaviour of Animal2	Qualitative - Nominal3
Time	Quantitative - Continuous (scaled)
Animal Heights4	Qualitative - Ordinal5
Moonphase	Qualitative - Ordinal
Tree Species	Qualitative - Nominal
Position In Tree6	Qualitative - Ordinal
Shift7	Qualitative - Ordinal
Tree Height	Qualitative - Ordinal8
Substrate Angle	Qualitative - Ordinal
Cloud Percentage	Qualitative - Ordinal
Individual	Qualitative - Nominal
Sex	Qualitative - Nominal9
Tracker	Qualitative - Nominal10

 

Notes 

1 Ranked 1,2 or3 

2 Whether sitting, walking or running 

3 Alternatively, could be classed as Ordinal if you take the Behaviour as a sequence or scale of motion. 

4 Measured roughly by sight in whole numbers 

5 As only measured in whole numbers, could be classed as quantitative/discrete but usually treated as ordinal data 

6 Categorised from closest match to 4 common positions ranking from proximity to trunk to end of branch 

7 First or second, overnight 

1 As only measured in whole numbers, could be classed as quantitative/discrete but usually treated as ordinal data 

9 Could argue that a choice between 2 is still an ordering ie male/female or equipment present/absent therefore might be ordinal 

10 Could argue that a choice between 2 is still an ordering ie male/female or equipment present/absent therefore might be ordinal 

 

 

Bar Charts  

 

 

 

 

 

Reflective Statement  

 

I was nervous about how to approach both the categorisations and the charts, especially as the Excel spreadsheet did not work properly in class and I am not familiar with Excel. 

 

I decided to start with the categorisation labelling and, in preparation, I watched the video of the original lecture. This was both helpful and worrying: helpful in that it reminded me of the classification labels and how to apply them (especially with the help of the related table on the lecture slides); it was also worrying because it referred to other statistical techniques that we would be using in Year 2 and beyond. It did refer to help being available for Excel training and for training in social data (VIVO) and social statistics (SPSS) which can help you to filter data reports and I will definitely investigate these further as the course progresses. 

 

I was worried about using Excel and ended up Googling videos on making bar charts and tables which weren’t very clear. In the end I decided to restrict myself to two variables: tree-type and, firstly. male preference for a particular tree and secondly female preference. I also used the same data to produce the table (grid) that was asked for and had similar difficulties, which worked ok but I know I need more training and practice.