how to retrieve attribute value

how to retrieve attribute value

Hello,
I am new to jquery. I am using jquery in sharepoint. I have added reference to jquery-1.3.2.min.js

I have a variable named col= 'Project Title'

In jquery, I am using like $(this).attr(col). Here I am getting below error

The name may not contain the ' 'character:Project--> <--Title

Please how can I resolve the error.
Thanks in advance