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Week 1 Checkpoint: Variables, Strings, and Decisions — Python For Researchers

Day 8 · ~11 min●

Five days, five functions. format_respondent, clean_group_label, format_stat_line, is_eligible, categorize_outcome. Which one surprised you most?

Honestly format_stat_line with the thousands separator. I had no idea :, was even a thing — I've been adding commas manually in Word tables for years.

And now you never will again. That single format spec replaces the manual formatting step on every revision round. What about the branching on Day 7?

The three-tier if/elif/else felt clean once I saw that else only fires when both conditions above it are false. It's the same waterfall logic as a nested IF in SPSS syntax — but readable.

A nested IF that doesn't make your eyes bleed. Research reproducibility, cleared.

Week 1 is behind me. Ready to see what actually landed.

Six questions, all from this week's code. These five functions are your Python toolkit now — let's make sure they're solid.

Quiz

0/6

6 questions80% to passretry anytime

1.What does format_respondent('R_042', 29.0) return?

def format_respondent(respondent_id, age):
    return f"Respondent {respondent_id} — Age: {age:.2f}"

"Respondent R_042 — Age: 29.00""Respondent R_042 — Age: 29.0""Respondent R_042 — Age: 29""Respondent {respondent_id} — Age: {age:.2f}"

2.What does clean_group_label(' Treatment A ') return?

def clean_group_label(raw):
    return raw.strip().lower().replace(' ', '_')

"treatment_a""treatment a"" treatment_a ""treatment_a_group"

3.What does format_stat_line('control', 1200, 3.856) return?

def format_stat_line(group, n, mean):
    return f"{group.title()} | N: {n:,} | Mean Outcome: {mean:.2f}"

"Control | N: 1200 | Mean Outcome: 3.86""Control | N: 1,200 | Mean Outcome: 3.86""Control | N: 1,200 | Mean Outcome: 3.856""Control | N: 1,200 | Mean: 3.86"

4.What does is_eligible(18.0, 18.0) return?

def is_eligible(age, min_age):
    return age >= min_age

TrueFalse0None

5.What does categorize_outcome(4.0, 4.0) return?

def categorize_outcome(score, threshold):
    if score < threshold:
        return "below threshold"
    elif score == threshold:
        return "at threshold"
    else:
        return "above threshold"

"below threshold""at threshold""above threshold"False

6.Which f-string correctly formats the integer 350 as "N: 350" (no decimal places)?

f"N: {350:.2f}"f"N: {350:,}"f"N: {350}"f"N: {350:,.2f}"