Chapter 1

Question 1

random sample

Answer 1

ensures that each person in population has an equal chance of being selected

Question 2

random assignment

Answer 2

assign subjects to treatment group with no prejudice, important for internal validity

Question 3

population

Answer 3

the entire collection of events in which a researcher is interested

Question 4

sample

Answer 4

a smaller grouping representative of the whole

Question 5

external validity

Answer 5

the question of whether the sample reflects the population

Question 6

internal validity

Answer 6

the results obtained because of differences in the way groups are treated and not because of who was placed in the groups

Question 7

variable

Answer 7

property of an object or event that can take on different values

Question 8

independent variable

Answer 8

controlled variable/s, either quantitative or qualitative and discrete or continuous

Question 9

dependent variable

Answer 9

data obtained when an experiment happens, usually quantitative and continuous

Question 10

discrete variables

Answer 10

take on a limited number of values

Question 11

continuous variables

Answer 11

can assume, at least in theory, any value between the lowest and highest points on a scale

Question 12

quantitative data

Answer 12

measurement data, results of measurement using an instrument, tells how much

Question 13

categorical data

Answer 13

frequency data, qualitative data, data placed in categories with values for each category

Question 14

raw data

Answer 14

collection of scores before being interpreted

Question 15

descriptive statistics

Answer 15

when the purpose is to simply describe a set of data, by graphing, calculating means, looking for extreme scores or oddly shaped distributions

Question 16

exploratory data analysis

Answer 16

EDA, John Turkey, necessity of paying close attention to data & analyzing them before invoking more technically involved procedures

Question 17

inferential statistics

Answer 17

questions asked that the collected data can answer

Question 18

parameter

Answer 18

a measure that refers to an entire population

Question 19

statistic

Answer 19

a parameter, calculated from a collected data sample, that is a guess/inference at reality

Question 20

S. S. Stevens

Answer 20

foremost leader of those who see measurement scales as crucial to the choice of statistical procedures, psychophysics as an attempt to turn psychology from “soft science” to “hard science”

Question 21

nominal scales

Answer 21

label items, such as “gender” and “political party affiliation”, categorical data usually measured on nominal scale

Question 22

ordinal scale

Answer 22

simplest true scale, orders people, objects, or events along a continuum

Question 23

interval scale

Answer 23

measurement scale which legitimately speaks of differences between scale points b/c each interval has the same value

Question 24

ratio scale

Answer 24

scale with a true zero point, pointing to the absence of a thing being measured (so that 10 seconds is twice as long as 5 seconds for example)