Chapter 1

Question 1

statistics

Answer 1

a set of procedures that allow the user to collect, analyze, interpret, and present masses of numeric data; describes a characteristic of a sample

Question 2

data

Answer 2

measurements or observations

Question 3

descriptive statistics

Answer 3

techniques used to describe, in numbers, some aspect of a data set

Question 4

ratio

Answer 4

a figure that represents the relative size of two values

Question 5

frequency

Answer 5

a figure that represents the number of times an event or observation occurs within a given unit of time

Question 6

typical observation

Answer 6

a single number that describes or represents all of the observations in a data set

Question 7

inferential statistics

Answer 7

techniques that allow researchers to draw conclusions or make generalizations about the population based on a sample drawn from that population

Question 8

population

Answer 8

all members of a specified group that are being studied or observed

Question 9

sample

Answer 9

a subset of the population studied or measured in order to make inferences about the population as a whole

Question 10

representative sample

Answer 10

a sample with a composition similar to that of the entire population being studied

Question 11

parameter

Answer 11

a descriptive statistic that describes a characteristic of a population

Question 12

experimentation

Answer 12

a test of a principle or hypothesis for the purpose of discovering something unknown

Question 13

variable

Answer 13

anything that can take on more than one value, or vary

Question 14

target

Answer 14

the variable the researcher is interested in investigating

Question 15

extraneous

Answer 15

a variable that influences the outcome of an experiment even though it is not the variable of interest to the experimenter

Question 16

hypothesis

Answer 16

a tentative explanation that a scientist sets out test through research

Question 17

levels

Answer 17

the varying amounts of the independent variable presented in a study

Question 18

independent

Answer 18

the variable that is manipulated, changed, delivered to the experimental participants in varying amounts, or used to define groups

Question 19

dependent

Answer 19

the variable that is measured in order to see the effect of the independent variable

Question 20

repeated measures design

Answer 20

a study that tests or measures the same participants repeatedly in every condition

Question 21

chance error

Answer 21

an error or difference in measurement that is the result of chance

Question 22

context

Answer 22

the point that the author of the statistic is trying to make