Identifying scale of measurement for the dependent variable?

Question

I am doing a research study on short-term memory. My research study will be whether gender has an impact on short term memory for college students. I need help identifying the scale of measurement for the dependent variable (which is the ability of both genders to recall the words) and providing a rationale.

Answer 1

The first important step is to have a crystal clear understanding of what your independent variable (IV) is and what your dependent variable (DV) is. Based on your description, the IV is gender and the DV is word recall.

The next step is to identify a scale that has been shown to be reliable and valuable as a measure of word recall. I recommend the The Word List Recall Scale from the Wechsler Memory Scale (Wechsler, 1997). It is a well-known assessment of word recall and has been used extensively in published research. This measurement tool is appropriate for individuals ranging in age from 16 to 90 years old, so it can be used for a wide range of ages across the adult lifespan.

Then you can run a between subjects test to examine whether word recall differ based on the gender of the participants.

Reference

Wechsler D. Wechsler Memory Scale. 3rd ed. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation; 1997).