Data Handling And Analysis

Question 1

Quantitive data

Answer 1

Numerical data

Question 2

Quantitive data advantages

Answer 2

Easier to analyse

can draw graphs and calculate averages, can eyeball data and see patterns at a glance

Question 3

Quantitive data disadvantages

Answer 3

Oversimplifies behaviour
e.g. using a rating scale to express feelings
Means individual meaning may be lost

Question 4

Qualitative data

Answer 4

Non-numerical data expressed in words

Question 5

Qualitative data advantages

Answer 5

Represents complexities
More detail included (e.g. explaining your feelings)
Can include unexpected information

Question 6

Qualitative data disadvantage

Answer 6

Less easy to analyse
Large amount of detail is difficult to summarise
Difficult to draw upon conclusions 

Question 7

Primary data

Answer 7

First-hand data collected for the purpose of the investigation

Question 8

Primary data advantage

Answer 8

Fits the job
The Studys designed to extract only the data needed
Information is directly relevant to the researchers aims 

Question 9

Primary data disadvantage

Answer 9

Requires time and effort
Design may involve planning and preparation
Secondary data can be accessed within minutes

Question 10

Secondary data

Answer 10

Collected by someone other than the person who is conducting research research e.g. a article 

Question 11

Secondary data advantage

Answer 11

Inexpensive
The desired information may already exist
Therefore it Requires minimal effort making it inexpensive

Question 12

Secondary data disadvantage

Answer 12

Quality may be poor
Information may be outdated or incomplete
Challenges the validity of the conclusions


Question 13

Meta analysis

Answer 13

A Type type of secondary data that involves combining data from a large number of studies

Question 14

Meta-analysis advantage

Answer 14

Increases validity of conclusions
The eventual sample size is much larger than individual samples
 increases the extent to which generalisations can be made

Question 15

Meta-analysis disadvantage

Answer 15

Publication bias
researchers may not select all relevant studies leaving out negative or non-significant results
 incorrect conclusions are drawn

Question 16

Advantage of using a mean

Answer 16

Sensitive
Includes all the scores in the dataset within the calculation
More of an overall impression on average rather than using median,mode

Question 17

Disadvantages of using mean

Answer 17

May be unrepresentative
One very large or small number makes it distorted
The median and mode tend to not to be so easily distorted

Question 18

Advantages of using the median

Answer 18

Unaffected by extreme scores
The median is only focused on the middle value
Maybe more representative of the data set as a whole

Question 19

Disadvantages of using the median

Answer 19

Less sensitive than the mean
Not all scores are included in the calculation of the median
Extreme values may be important

Question 20

Advantages of using the mode

Answer 20

Relevant to categorical data
When data is discreet i.e. represented in categories
Sometimes the mode is the only appropriate measure

Question 21

Disadvantages of using the mode

Answer 21

An overly simple measure
There may be many modes in a data set
Not a useful way of describing data when there are many modes 

Question 22

Advantage of the range

Answer 22

Easy to calculate
Arrange values in order to subtract the largest from the smallest
Simple Formula, easier than standard deviation

Question 23

Disadvantage of the range

Answer 23

Does not account for the distribution of scores
Doesn’t indicate whether most numbers are closely grouped around the mean, or spread out evenly
Standard deviation is a much better measure of dispersion in this regard.

Question 24

Advantage of using standard deviation

Answer 24

More precise than the range
Includes all values within the calculation
Displays a more accurate picture of the overall distribution in the data set

Question 25

Disadvantage of using standard deviation

Answer 25

It May be misleading
It may hide some of the characteristics of the data set
Extreme values may not be revealed unlike with the range

Question 26

Normal distribution

Answer 26

Symmetrical bell shaped curve.
Most people in the middle area with a few at the extreme ends
The mean median and mode all occupy the same midpoint of the curve

Question 27

Skewed distribution

Answer 27

Distributions that lean to one side or the other because most people are either at the lower or upper end of the distribution

Question 28

Negative skew

Answer 28

Most of the distribution is concentrated towards the right of the graph (tail on the left)
Mode is the highest point (peak)
Median comes next to the left
Mean is dragged across to the left

Question 29

Positive skew

Answer 29

Most of the distribution is concentrate towards the left of the graph (tail on the right)
Mode is the highest point of the peak
Medium comes next to the right
Mean is dragged across to the right

Question 30

Nominal data

Answer 30

Level data Frequency or count data that consists of the number of Ps falling into categories
e.g. 7 people passed their driving test, 6 didn’t

Question 31

Ordinal data

Answer 31

Level data that are presented in rank order e.g. places in a Beaty contest or ratings of attractiveness

Question 32

Interval data

Answer 32

Level data measured in fixed units with equal distance between points on the scale. e.g. Celsius data or time

Question 33

Thematic analysis