L14 - Mathmatical Concepts & Distributions

Question 1

Tables

Answer 1

• when they appear in results section of a research report they aren’t raw scores
• been converted to descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency/dispersion)
• should be paragraph beneath the table explaining the data

Question 2

Types of graphs

Answer 2

• bar charts
• histograms
• line graphs
• scattergraphs/scattergrams
• distributions

Question 3

Bar charts

Answer 3

• nominal data
• height shows frequency of each item
• space is left between each bar - indicates lack of continuity

Question 4

Histograms

Answer 4

• ordinal/interval data
• area within bars proportional to frequencies represented
• no gaps between bars

Question 5

Line graphs

Answer 5

• ordinal/interval data
• points connected by lines for show how something changes
• typically IV on x-axis, DV on y-axis

Question 6

Scattergraphs/scattergrams

Answer 6

• don’t show differences but associations between co-variables (correlations)
• closed the points on the graph are to a straight line, the stronger the correlation

Question 7

Normal distribution

Answer 7

• reflect bell shaped curve - is symmetrical
• most people are located in the middle area of the curve & few people at extreme ends
• mean, mode, median all are at same mid-point of the curve
• ends of curve never touch x-axis as more extreme scores are theoretically possible

Question 8

Positive skew

Answer 8

• right skew
• most data concentrated to left of the graph
• mode remains at the highest lounge of the peak
• median comes next but the mean has been dragged across to the right

Question 9

Negative skew

Answer 9

• left skew
• most data concentrated to right of the graph
• mode remains at the highest lounge of the peak
• median comes before but the mean has been dragged across to the left