Data analysis: Descriptive stats

Question 1

What is a measure of central tendency?

Answer 1

A general term for any measure of the average value of a set.

Question 2

What is the median?

Answer 2

The central value in a set of data when values when arranged lowest to highest.

Question 3

What are the three measures of central tendency?

Answer 3

• Mean,
• Median,
• Mode.

Question 4

How do you find the median?

Answer 4

Order the numbers from lowest to highest, then find the middle value.

Question 5

What is the mode?

Answer 5

The most frequently occurring value in a set of data.

Question 6

Which measure of central tendency considers all values in a data set?

Answer 6

The mean.

Question 7

What are descriptive statistics?

Answer 7

The use of graphs, tables and summary statistics to identify trends and analyse sets of data.

Question 8

How do you find the mode?

Answer 8

Identify the number that is most common in the data set.

Question 9

Why is the mean seen as the most representative measure of central tendency?

Answer 9

Because it considers the weight of all values in the data set.

Question 10

What is the mean?

Answer 10

The arithmetic average calculated by adding up all the values of a set and dividing by the number of values.

Question 11

How do you calculate the mean value?

Answer 11

Add up all of the values in a data set, then count the number of values and divide the sum by the number of values.

Question 12

T / F:

- It is possible to have two values as the mean.

Answer 12

False.

Question 13

How do you calculate the mode?

Answer 13

Find the most frequently occurring value in a data set.

Question 14

What does it mean if a set is bi-modal?

Answer 14

There are two modes in the data set.

Question 15

There can be more than one average for which measure of tendency?

Answer 15

There can be more than 1 mode.

Question 16

If every score in the data set is different, what is the mode?

Answer 16

There is no mode.

Question 17

T / F:

- It is possible to have two values as the median.

Answer 17

False.

Question 18

Which measure of central tendency is used to measure the most ‘typical’ value?

Answer 18

The mode.

Question 19

Which measure of central tendency can easily be distorted by an anomalous value?

Answer 19

The mean.

Question 20

T / F:

- It is possible to have two values as the mode.

Answer 20

True.

Question 21

What are measures of dispersion?

Answer 21

The general term for any measure of spread or variation in a set of scores.

Question 22

What is the range?

Answer 22

The total dispersion in a set of scores.

Question 23

What does a smaller standard deviation mean?

Answer 23

That there is little dispersion or spread within a set of data.

Question 24

How would a tightly clustered data set be represented in a standard deviation?

Answer 24

The standard deviation would be low.

Question 25

How is the range calculated?

Answer 25

The lowest value is subtracted from the highest value.

Question 26

Which measure of dispersion is the most precise?

Answer 26

Standard deviation, because it includes all values within the final calculation.

Question 27

How do anomalous values affect the standard deviation?

Answer 27

They heavily distort them.

Question 28

What does a large standard deviation mean?

Answer 28

That there is greater dispersion or spread within a set of data.

Question 29

What are the main two measures of dispersion?

Answer 29

Range and Standard Deviation.

Question 30

What is the standard deviation?

Answer 30

A measure of the dispersion within a set of scores, telling us how much scores differentiate from the mean.