Environmental data analysis-ONS 1001 Flashcards
what is observation
key element of the scientific method
to create, support and test ideas or understanding
what can observation show
an idea to be likely true or unlikely false
what does any idea in science have to be
any idea in science has to be testable
what do theories make
theories make definite predictions that are capable of being tested against experience
what is statistics
collection and interpretation of data
quantifying the strength of the evidence allows to cautiously generalise from our limited experience
what is descriptive statistics
summarising or describing our data
what is inferential statistics
using a smaller set of data to understand the bigger picture
what does data analysis allow us to do
identify and understand patterns
generate new scientific knowledge communicate findings and evaluate each others work
what are populations in statistics
all cases or situations that the ‘statistician’ wants their conclusions and generalisations to relate to
what are samples in statistics
representative subset of the population that will provide you with a good estimate for the entire population in question
what is sampling error
the difference between the sample and the population
what are the 3 types of categorial data
ordinal
nominal
binary
what is ordinal data
ordered descriptions
gaps are not the same between data
give an example of ordinal data
positions in a race e.g 1st,2nd and 3rd
what is nominal data
unordered descriptions
what is binary data
where there are only 2 mutually exclusive outcomes
what are the 2 types of Quantitative data
discrete continuous
what is continuous data
measured data with infinite values within possible ranges
what is discrete data
observations can only exist at limited values
often counts
what is a variable
any attribute or characteristics
that helps us distinguish between one individual and another
what is a constant
characteristic
that does not vary between individuals in a sample
