Chapter 1: Intro to Statistics Flashcards
1.1 Understand the consumers & producers of Public Health research 1.2 Understand the core concepts & terms of Public Health research 1.3 Distinguish between various forms of Public Health research 1.4 Understand why Public Health researchers test hypotheses 1.5 The stages of Public Health research 1.6 Distinguish between the three levels of measurement 1.7 The functions of statistics
Who are the consumers of Public Health research?
- The general public
- Agency administrators
- Policy Makers
Who are the producers of Public Health Research?
- Academics
- Private sector investigators
- Government agencies
What is a variable?
A characteristic that differs or varies from one individual to another or from one point in time to another
What is a constant?
A characteristic that does not differ or vary from one individual to another or from one point in time to another
What is a unit of observation?
- The element that is being studied
- The subject from which variables are
being studied
What is a hypothesis?
A statement of a relationship between two or more variables
What is an independent variable?
The presumed cause
What is a dependent variable?
The presumed effect or outcome
What is an experiment?
A type of research where the researcher manipulates one or more independent variables
What is an experimental group?
The group in an experiment that is manipulated
What is a control group?
The group in an experiment that is not manipulated
Aside from whether the groups in an experiment are manipulated, how are the initial differences between groups eliminated?
By random assignment to these groups
What are the disadvantages of the experiment?
- It is expensive to recruit people into groups, and
2. It is desirable to have the largest groups possible
What are the disadvantages of the survey?
- The effects of the independent variables on the dependent variables are recorded after they have occurred (retroactive research)
- It is much more difficult to establish cause and effect
Why is retrospective research a disadvantage of the survey approach?
ASK INSTRUCTOR
What are the advantages of the survey?
- Larger sample size
2. Results can be generalized more easily
What is content analysis?
Research that objectively describes the content of previously produced messages
What is participant observation?
Research in which the researcher actually participates in the daily life of the people under study, either openly or covertly
What is secondary analysis?
Research done using data collected by another researcher
What is the benefit of secondary analysis?
It is cost-effective
What are the limitations of secondary analysis?
- Limited to what is available
2. No control over questions asked
What is meta-analysis?
Research that combines the results obtained in a number of previous studies
Why do Public Health researchers test hypotheses?
In order to avoid the acceptance of invalid conclusions
Why are common-sense observations insufficient to test hypotheses?
Because they are often based on narrow, biased preconceptions and personal experiences, which can lead to the acceptance of invalid conclusions
What are the stages of Public Health research?
- Development of a hypothesis
- Development of instrument(s)
- Data collection
- Data analysis
- Interpretation and communication of results
What is the nominal level of measurement?
Naming or labeling; categorization
What is the ordinal level of measurement?
Ordering of categories; different values of the categories can be sorted
What is the interval level of measurement?
Ordering and exact distances; can be added and subtracted (numerical variables)
What is the ratio level of measurement?
Numerical variables can be added, subtracted, and divided
Name a way, other than categorization, that ordinal variables can be measured
They can be treated as interval/ratio variables if the distances between response categories are assumed to be equal
What are discrete variables?
Variables that take only certain specific values (all categorical variables; certain numeric variables, e.g. number of children)
What is are continuous variables?
Variables that could take an infinite range of possible values (ordering of categories)
Why is it important to distinguish types of variables?
Because the type of variable dictates which technique must be used to analyze the variable or the relationship between variables
Name the functions of statistics
- The description of data
2. To inform decision making
What is the definition of statistics?
The science of collecting, organizing, summarizing, and analyzing information in order to draw conclusions or to answer questions
Ordinal measurement is used primarily to:
Rank order data
A researcher who scores a set of responses (from 0 to 100) in terms of their degree of empathy for accident victims is working at the _________ level of measurement.
Interval
The statistical approach involved in generalizing from a sample of the hundreds of patients in a particular hospital is known as:
Decision making
