Analyzing Data

Question 1

Data can be…

Answer 1

discrete or continuous

Question 2

How is the distribution of a dataset measured?

Answer 2

The distribution of the dataset is measured using frequency distribution and is presented in graphical form using a bar chart or a histogram.

Question 3

The histogram is preferred in the case of what type of data?

Answer 3

continuous

Question 4

The bar chart is preferred for what type of data?

Answer 4

nominal or ordinal

Question 5

Measures of central tendency are used to show…

Answer 5

the center of the data set

Question 6

What is the mean?

Answer 6

average of all data

Question 7

What is the median?

Answer 7

the middle of the entire data set.
Usually, the data is sorted in ascending order and the middle value is considered as the mean.

Question 8

What is the mode?

Answer 8

Mode indicates the most commonly occurring value in the data set.

Question 9

If the mean, median, and mode are equal then data is said to be…

Answer 9

normally distributed

Question 10

The value of the estimates of central tendency help in the next series of characteristics of the data set…

Answer 10

dispersion or variation

Question 11

The objective of measure of dispersion or variation is to identify…

Answer 11

the extent to which the entire data set is spread from the central tendency – specifically mean

Question 12

What are common measures of dispersion or variation?

Answer 12

Range
Stanard deviation

Question 13

What is variance?

Answer 13

The variance is the square of Standard Deviation. It helps to find the spread of the data. It is different from Standard Deviation which indicates the concentration of data around the mean and uses the same units.

Question 14

What is range?

Answer 14

The range is the simplest of the three. It is the difference between the maximum and minimum number in the data set.

Question 15

When do we use descriptive stats?

Answer 15

In instances where descriptive statistics can provide straight-forward answers about a sample especially; usually when the question is about describing the sample or comparing two samples. Comparison of data of two separate samples can be done if the researcher can establish that the samples are large enough to be compared adequately.
The objective is to answer a direct question and not to infer about an entire population. For any kind of inferential statistics in research, the first step is to establish the descriptive statistics from the data.

Question 16

Why do we use descriptive stats?

Answer 16

To create an overview of the entire data set by summarizing it
To generate an actionable set of information from the large data set having multiple variables
To segregate the data into homogeneous groups to enable comparison
To operate on the descriptive statistics’ output (which forms the basis) using inferential statistical tests to generalize about a population or forecast outcomes

Question 17

Why do we use excel spreadsheets for data?

Answer 17

Excel provides information on summary statistics that includesMean, Standard Error, Median, Mode, Standard Deviation, Variance, Kurtosis, Skewness, Range, Minimum, Maximum, Sum, and Count. In other words, it consists of measures of central tendency, variability, skewness and kurtosis.

Question 18

What is SPSS?

Answer 18

Statistical Product and Service Solutions
Runs descriptive statistics and regression analyses, view patterns of missing data and summarize variable distributions with an integrated interface.
IBM® SPSS® Statistics is a powerful statistical software platform. It offers a user-friendly interface and a robust set of features that lets your organization quickly extract actionable insights from your data. Advanced statistical procedures help ensure high accuracy and quality decision making. All facets of the analytics lifecycle are included, from data preparation and management to analysis and reporting.

Question 19

What are the 2 main uses of inferential statistics?

Answer 19

Making estimates about populations
Testing hypotheses to draw conclusions about populations

Question 20

What is inferential statistics?

Answer 20

Inferential statisticsuses a small sample of data to draw inferences about the larger population that the sample came from.

Question 21

What are the 5 main steps in hypothesis testing?

Answer 21

State your research hypothesis as a null hypothesis and alternate hypothesis.
Collect data in a way designed to test the hypothesis.
Perform an appropriate statistical test.
Decide whether to reject or fail to reject your null hypothesis.
Present the findings in yourresults and discussion section.

Question 22

What is hypothesis testing?

Answer 22

A formal procedure for investigating our ideas about the world usingstatistics. It is most often used by scientists to test specific predictions, called hypotheses, that arise from theories.

Question 23

What is a p-value?

Answer 23

describes how likely you are to have found a particular set of observations if the null hypothesis were true.

The smaller thepvalue, the more likely you are to reject the null hypothesis.