Descriptive Stats Flashcards

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1
Q

What do measures of central tendency do?

A

Inform researcher about the performance of ppts in a group using a number of

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2
Q

What are the 3 examples of measures of central tendency:

A
  • Mean
  • Median
  • Mode
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3
Q

How to calculate mean:

A

Add up all ppts scores and divide by number of scores there are

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4
Q

Strength of mean:

A

+ more representative as it takes all ppt scores into account rather than focusing on just one value

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5
Q

Weakness of mean:

A
  • as it takes all ppt scores into account, can be affected by anomalous results
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6
Q

Interpretation of mean:

A

Higher mean suggests better performance. There are exceptions to this for example reaction time, number of errors, depression score

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7
Q

What is standard deviation?

A

Tells us how far each ppt value is from mean.

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8
Q

What does a high standard deviation tell us?

A

More variation/ spread away from the mean and less consistency around the mean

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9
Q

What does a low standard deviation tell us?

A

Less variation/ spread away from mean, more consistency around the mean

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10
Q

Two strengths of finding the standard deviation:

A

+ as it takes into account every ppts score, it is more representative
+ since it measures the distance of each score from the mean, it is only slightly affected by anomalous value if there is one

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11
Q

What is range?

A

Largest value - smallest value

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12
Q

What does high range tell us?

A

More variation and spread + less consistency in ppt scores

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13
Q

What does low range tell us?

A

Less variation and spread + more consistency in ppt scores

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14
Q

Two weaknesses of finding the range:

A
  • since anomalous results will always be the highest or lowest value, range is skewed by outliers
  • since focuses on highest and lowest values - not representative as it does not take all ppts performances into account
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