Statistics Terminology and Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide, Quizzes of Psychology

Download Statistics Terminology and Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide and more Quizzes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Statistics DEFINITION 1 A number calculated from a sample of data that summarizes some characteristic of the sample TERM 2 Descriptive statistics DEFINITION 2 Used to summarize, organize, and present data in a convenient and communicable form TERM 3 Inferential statistics DEFINITION 3 Techniques that allow us to make inferences or conclusions about a population based on data that are gathered from a sample TERM 4 Naturalistic observation DEFINITION 4 Observing participants in their "natural" environment TERM 5 Correlation DEFINITION 5 Assess if there is a relationship between two or more variables TERM 6 Variable DEFINITION 6 A characteristic that takes on different values for different individuals in a population or sample TERM 7 Constant DEFINITION 7 A characteristic that does not change its value in a given context TERM 8 Discrete variable DEFINITION 8 A variable that consists of separate , individual categories; can assume only a finite number of values between any 2 points TERM 9 Continuous variable DEFINITION 9 A variable where there are an infinite number of possible values that fall between any 2 observed values TERM 10 Independent variable DEFINITION 10 A variable that is examined in order to determine its effects on an outcome of interest TERM 21 Stratified random sampling DEFINITION 21 Divide the population into groups, or strata, based on some special interest in the groups TERM 22 Cluster sampling DEFINITION 22 similar to stratified, but division occurs in convenient rather than theoretically motivated ways TERM 23 sampling error DEFINITION 23 Any error in sampling that leads to a biased sample TERM 24 Ramdom sampling error DEFINITION 24 A random sample may not be representative of a population based on chance factors TERM 25 Non-random sampling error DEFINITION 25 a rise from improper sampling, and having nothing to do with chance TERM 26 Non-sampling erros DEFINITION 26 Errors that are not related to the act of selecting a sample TERM 27 Nominal scale DEFINITION 27 Classify observations into mutually exclusive and exhaustive categories TERM 28 Ordinal scale DEFINITION 28 Observations are rank ordered in terms of size or magnitude TERM 29 Interval scale DEFINITION 29 A quantitative scale that requires a constant unit of measurement; intervals between numbers are equal in size TERM 30 Ratio scale DEFINITION 30 Similar to interval scale with equal intervals except that the 0-point is absolute TERM 31 Frequency distribution DEFINITION 31 An organization of data indicating the number of people that obtain a certain score or fell in a certain category TERM 32 Frequency distribution tables DEFINITION 32 The simplest frequency distributions list a column of scores and then the frequency, or number of times that score occurs TERM 33 Relative frequency column DEFINITION 33 Tells us the scores frequency relative to the total sample size (N)F/N TERM 34 Cumulative frequency column DEFINITION 34 Tells us the number of people who are in or below each class interval TERM 35 Cumulative relative frequency column DEFINITION 35 Tells us the relative frequency of people who are in or below each class intervalCum f/N TERM 46 Mode DEFINITION 46 Score or category that has the greatest frequency, the most common score TERM 47 Median DEFINITION 47 The score that divides the distribution exactly half, 50% of the scores are above or below TERM 48 Variability DEFINITION 48 The degree to which scores in a distribution are spread out or sclustered TERM 49 Range DEFINITION 49 The distance between the largest score and the smallest score TERM 50 Deviation DEFINITION 50 Score-mean TERM 51 Sums of squares DEFINITION 51 The sum of the squared deviations around the mean TERM 52 Variance DEFINITION 52 The average squared deviation from the mean TERM 53 Standard deviation DEFINITION 53 Measure of the variability that approximates the average deviation for a set of scores TERM 54 Z-scores DEFINITION 54 Standard scores that specify the precise location of each raw score in a distribution in terms of standard deviation units TERM 55 Z-score formula DEFINITION 55 z= x-m / a TERM 56 Outlier DEFINITION 56 A score that does not reflect the process that we want to measure TERM 57 Extreme score DEFINITION 57 A true score that is an extreme case TERM 58 Correlation DEFINITION 58 A statistical technique that describes the relationship between two or more variables TERM 59 Homoscedasticity DEFINITION 59 Should have the same scatter throughout the distribution TERM 60 How to lie with correlation DEFINITION 60 Range restrictionAdding or deleting outliersFalse causality