Statistics are an _____ way of interpreting a collection of _____. In other words, it is how we ____ data we have collected.
2 types of statistics:
- inferential techniques
5 purposes in selecting tools for analysis:
How is selecting tools for analysis to describe?
What are the characteristics of some groups or groups of people (eg. standard deviation)
How is selecting tools for analysis to compare?
are two or more groups the same or different on some characteristic? (eg. t-test)
How is selecting tools for analysis to associate?
are 2 variables related and what is the strength of this relationship? (eg. correlation coefficient)
How is selecting tools for analysis to predict?
can measures be used to predict something in the future? (eg. regression)
How is selecting tools for analysis to explain?
given some outcome or phenomenon, why does it occur? (eg. structural equation modeling)
2 broad types of numerical data:
- discrete
Continuous data:
measurement theoretically possible at any point along a continuum
Discrete data:
limited to a specific number of values
Descriptive stats is used to:
2 ways of describing data numerically:
- variation
Central tendency consists of:
Variation consists of:
Measures of central tendency indicates the _____ around which scores tend to be _____.
- concentrated
Mean:
- used with interval or ratio data
Most common measure of central tendency:
mean
Median:
- used with ordinal data
Mode:
- used with nominal/categorical data
Measures of variability describes data in terms of its _____ or _______.
- heterogeneity
Easiest measure of variability:
range
Range:
- ignores the distribution of data and is sensitive to outliers
Interquartile range:
- eliminating high and low valued observations and calculate the range of the middle 50% of the data