Descriptive statistics Flashcards
nominal data
results are shown in 2 or more categories
shows number of times something occurred
no scores for individual participants
ordinal data
individual scores for each participant
results can be placed in rank order
interval data
made up from a scientific scale
individual score for each participant
can go into negatives
e.g temperature
ratio data
made up from a scientific scale
individual score for each participant
cant go into negatives - absolute zero
mathematical units
e.g weight, distance, time
strength of nominal data
easy to analyse
strength of ordinal data
allows for some comparison between participants, can rank them
data can be simplified and treated as nominal
strength of interval and ratio data
provides measurement of participants in universally accepted measurements
allows for detailed comparison
data can be simplified and treated as ordinal or nominal
weakness of nominal data
does not allow for comparisons between participants
weakness of ordinal data
data doesn’t always allow us to see difference between participants’ scores only that someone has scored better/worse
not measured in scientific units
weakness of interval and ratio data
no weaknesses
strength of mean and is it CT or D
CT - uses all raw data so representative
strength of median and is it CT or D
CT - not affected by extreme scores
strength of mode and is it CT or D
CT - not influenced by extreme scores and can show most popular value
weakness of mean
misreading as affected by extreme scores
weakness of median
can be distorted by small sample sizes