A Vocabulary Flashcards
how close to the true value your measurements or estimates are (ex. shots spread around bullseye)
Accuracy
typically discrete
Character
variable that can take on any value in a range (not necessarily whole numbers) (ex. mass)
Continuous variable
control variable you can measure but not control
Covariate
a collection of observations of the same variable
Data
an individual observation of a variable
Datum
variable that experiment seeks to explain
Dependent variable
describes data
Descriptive statistics
nominal variables that only have two categories (ex. dead or alive)
Dichotomous variable
measured in whole numbers (ex. eggs in a nest)
Discrete variable
variable thought to influence/ control dependent variable
Independent variable
statements about data
Inferential statistics
consistent scale of measure, negative values possible (meaningLESS 0), such degrees Fahrenheit, Celsius, IQ
Interval
the process of systematically assigning numbers (or other descriptors) to objects or their properties (ex. occupied or not, colors, etc.)
Measurement
a sample that does not accurately represent the population (ex. measuring fish lengths but net holes are large so smaller fish are lost)
Measurement bias
variable scale including names, colors, sex, species, etc.
Nominal
when you have two competing theories theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one
Occam’s Razor
variable scale including ranks, such as tallest, heaviest, etc.
Ordinal
the true value of some aspect of a variable for a population
Parameter
the simplest explanation (hypothesis) consistent with the data
Parsimony
all of the possible observations for the variable of interest
Population
how repeatable your measurements or estimates are
Precision
measured categorically
Qualitative variable
measured numerically
Quantitative variable
every measurement in the population has an equal chance of being in the sample
Random
consistent scale of measure, negative values not possible (meaningFULL 0), such as Kelvin, lengths, mass, etc.
Ratio
a subset of the population used to represent the population
Sample
an estimate of a parameter derived from a sample
Statistic
a statistical that consistently overestimates or underestimates a parameter
Statistical bias
the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data
Statistics
the property being measured or of interest
Variable
the process of specifying how a concept will be defined and measured
Operationalization
a variable used to represent another variable that might be difficult/ expensive to measure (ex. BAC)
proxy variable
may be independent or dependent
factor
