'M' Terms

Question 1

Mean

Answer 1

See arithmetic mean.

Question 2

Measure of central tendency

Answer 2

A measure that summarizes the magnitude of a set of scores; examples includes the arithmetic mean, median, and mode.

Question 3

Measure of dispersion

Answer 3

A measure (such as the range or standard deviation) that summarizes the amount of variation in a set of scores.

Question 4

Measurement validity

Answer 4

The degree to which a measure of a concept actually measures what it is supposed to measure; also see face validity and concurrent validity.

Question 5

Median

Answer 5

The midpoint in a set of scores that is arranged in order.

Question 6

Member validation

Answer 6

See respondent validation.

Question 7

Missing data

Answer 7

Data that are not available, for example, when a respondent in social survey research does not answer a question. These are referred to as missing values in IBM SPSS statistics software.

Question 8

Mode

Answer 8

The score of that occurs most frequently a set of scores.

Question 9

Moderated relationship

Answer 9

A relationship between two variables is said to be ‘moderated’ when the effect of the independent variable varies at different levels of a second independent variable (also known as a statistical interaction).

Question 10

Moderator

Answer 10

The person who guides the questioning of a focus group, also called a facilitator.

Question 11

Multiple-indicator measure

Answer 11

A measure that uses more than one indicator.

Question 12

Multi-strategy research

Answer 12

Research that combines quantitative and qualitative approaches.

Question 13

Multivariate analysis

Answer 13

The examination of relationships among three or more variables.