Critical Evaluation Flashcards
Frequency distributions
Refers to organizing a data set chronologically
Central tendency
An attempt to describe a data set with a single value and include the mean, medan, mode, quartiles, and percentiles
Variance analysis
The difference between actual performance and expected performance
Ratio analysis
Compares organization or industry standards to data in financial statements to measure a company’s financial health
Trend analysis
Used to forecast the future state; measures variance over time to determine if results are isolated or if results identify trends
Regression analysis
Used to determine the degree to which variables are related to each other
Root cause analysis
Used to determine the fundamental cause of a result; working backward, each case is analyzed until the root cause is identified
Measurement bias: Stereotyping
Using personally held beliefs about groups of people to draw conclusions about a specific situation
Example: men do not make good administrative assistants because they lack the ability to multitask
Measurement bias: Inconsistency
Manipulating data to draw selective rather than representative conclusions
Example: A male employee sexually harasses a female employee at a company event. The harassment is witnessed by 12 people, three of whom are men. The HR pro only interviews the three male employees.
Measurement bias: First-impression effect
Forming opinions based on first impression rather than the objective data collected
Measurement bias: Negative emphasis
Placing the most emphasis on a small amount of negative and irrelevant information
Measurement bias: halo effect/horn effect
Emphasizing either positive information (halo) or negative information (horn) over all else
Measurement bias: Nonverbal bias
Placing too much emphasis on body language and other nonverbal cues
Measurement bias: contrast effect
Comparing all statements against all other statements
Measurement bias: Similar to me
Being influenced by shared personal characteristics
Measurement bias: cultural noise
Not recognizing when the candidate answers questions based on what the candidate believes the interviewer wants to hear
Focus group facilitation technique: mind mapping technique
Where the facilitator starts the conversation with a central idea that participants add to and start making connections. Then affinity diagramming captures similar ideas and creates themes to organize ideas.
Focus group facilitation technique: nominal group technique
A facilitation style where one person suggests an idea that the group discusses, ad nauseum. Then the next person suggests an idea and the same thing happens. This continues until there are no longer any ideas. Ideas gathered are then categorized into groups and subgroups.
Focus group facilitation technique: Delphi technique
Minimizes groupthink because ideas are generated via a survey. Those ideas are sent out as a follow-up survey for the group to comment on and refine. This is done until clear themes emerge.
