Chapter 1

Question 1

statistics

Answer 1

A set of procedures used by social scientists to organize, summarize, and communicate numerical information.

Question 2

data

Answer 2

Information represented by numbers, which can be the subject of statistical analysis.

Question 3

research process

Answer 3

A set of activities in which social scientists engage to answer questions, examine ideas, or test theories.

Question 4

empirical research

Answer 4

Researched based on evidence that can be verified by using our direct experience.

Question 5

theory

Answer 5

A set of assumptions and propositions used to explain, predict, and understand social phenomena.

Question 6

hypothesis

Answer 6

A statement predicting the relationship between two or more observable attributes.

Question 7

variable

Answer 7

A property of people or objects that takes on two or more values.

Question 8

unit of analysis

Answer 8

The object of research, such as individuals, groups, organizations, or social artifacts.

Question 9

dependent variable

Answer 9

The variable to be explained (the effect).

Question 10

independent variable

Answer 10

The variable expected to account for (the cause of) the dependent variable.

Question 11

nominal measurement

Answer 11

Numbers or other symbols are assigned to a set of categories for the purpose of naming, labeling, or classifying the observations. Nominal categories cannot be rank-ordered. Examples- gender, employment

Question 12

ordinal measurement

Answer 12

Numbers are assigned to rank-ordered categories ranging from low to high. Examples- social class, age

Question 13

interval-ratio measurement

Answer 13

Measurements for all cases are expressed in the same units and equally spaced. Interval-ratio values can be rank-ordered. Examples- age, income, SAT scores

Question 14

dichotomous variable

Answer 14

A variable that has only two values. Examples- gender, employment status, marital status

Question 15

population

Answer 15

The total set of individuals, objects, groups, or events in which the researcher is interested.

Question 16

sample

Answer 16

A subset of cases selected from a population.

Question 17

sampling

Answer 17

The process of identifying and selecting the subset of the population for study.

Question 18

descriptive statistics

Answer 18

Procedures that help us organize and describe data collected from either a sample or a population.

Question 19

inferential statistics

Answer 19

The logic and procedures concerned with making predictions or inferences about a population from observations and analyses of a sample.