Descriptive statistics Flashcards

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1
Q

nominal data

A

results are shown in 2 or more categories
shows number of times something occurred
no scores for individual participants

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2
Q

ordinal data

A

individual scores for each participant
results can be placed in rank order

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3
Q

interval data

A

made up from a scientific scale
individual score for each participant
can go into negatives
e.g temperature

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4
Q

ratio data

A

made up from a scientific scale
individual score for each participant
cant go into negatives - absolute zero
mathematical units
e.g weight, distance, time

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5
Q

strength of nominal data

A

easy to analyse

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6
Q

strength of ordinal data

A

allows for some comparison between participants, can rank them
data can be simplified and treated as nominal

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7
Q

strength of interval and ratio data

A

provides measurement of participants in universally accepted measurements
allows for detailed comparison
data can be simplified and treated as ordinal or nominal

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8
Q

weakness of nominal data

A

does not allow for comparisons between participants

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9
Q

weakness of ordinal data

A

data doesn’t always allow us to see difference between participants’ scores only that someone has scored better/worse
not measured in scientific units

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10
Q

weakness of interval and ratio data

A

no weaknesses

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11
Q

strength of mean and is it CT or D

A

CT - uses all raw data so representative

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12
Q

strength of median and is it CT or D

A

CT - not affected by extreme scores

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13
Q

strength of mode and is it CT or D

A

CT - not influenced by extreme scores and can show most popular value

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14
Q

weakness of mean

A

misreading as affected by extreme scores

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15
Q

weakness of median

A

can be distorted by small sample sizes

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16
Q

weakness of mode

A

does not use all the data so may not be representative

17
Q

strength of range and is it CT or D

A

D - easy to calculate

18
Q

strength of variance and is it CT or D

A

D - takes every score into account and is therefore not affected by outliers

19
Q

strength of SD and is it CT or D

A

D - more in line with the original set of data

20
Q

weakness of range

A

can be influenced by extreme scores
can be misleading as it tells us nothing about the distribution of the other scores

21
Q

weakness of variance

A

data is not in line with the original set of data

22
Q

weakness of SD

A

requires a more complex calculation

23
Q

steps of SD calculation (7)

A
  1. add up number of scores to give you n
  2. calculate the mean
  3. calculate difference between individual score and the mean score
  4. square the difference
  5. sum the square roots
  6. divide the sum of squares by n
  7. root the variance
24
Q

3 types of bar chart

A

bar chart, stacked bar chart, paired bar chart

25
Q

strength of quantitative data

A

allows for easy comparison between groups so can draw valid conclusions

26
Q

strength of qualitative data

A

gain insight into behavior, may learn why people behaved the way they did

27
Q

weakness of quantitative data

A

limited insight into data
know what happened but don’t know why

28
Q

weakness of qualitative data

A

harder to compare between groups and participants
prone to bias, subjective

29
Q

primary data

A

data collected directly by the researcher through a study

30
Q

secondary data

A

data obtained by other people

31
Q

strength of primary data

A

researcher in control so can ensure that the data is collected properly like standardized instructions - more faith invalidity of findings

32
Q

weakness of primary data

A

data does not already exist so the researcher would need to plan a suitable and ethical procedure for data collection which takes time

33
Q

strength of secondary data

A

data already exists so it can be accessed without the need to plan and carry out suitable research

34
Q

weakness of secondary data

A

quality of the data will be subject to any weaknesses present in the original design so validity in findings may be questionable

35
Q

which tables record raw data

A

frequency tables and tally charts