M2L6: Measures of Variability

Question 1

show us how the scores in a set are scattered or distributed around the mean

Answer 1

Measures of variability or dispersion

Question 2

Usually, this is defined in terms of distance. It tells how much distance to expect between one score and another.

Answer 2

Variability

Question 3

It provides a quantitative measure of the differences between scores in a distribution and describes the degree to which the scores are spread out or clustered together.

Answer 3

Measures of variability or dispersion

Question 4

Measures of variability tells whether the scores are clustered close together or are spread out over a large distance.

Answer 4

True

Question 5

measures how well an individual score represents the entire distribution

Answer 5

Variability

Question 6

This aspect of variability is very important for inferential statistics in which relatively small samples are used to answer questions about populations.

Answer 6

True

Question 7

3 Measures of variability

Answer 7

1) range
2) standard deviation
3) variance

Question 8

refers to the highest score minus the lowest score

Answer 8

Range

Question 9

the difference between the largest score (Xmax) and the smallest score (Xmin)

Answer 9

Range

Question 10

is the distance between the lower quartile and the upper quartile

Answer 10

Interquartile range or IQR

Question 11

It is the spread in the middle half of a data set.

Answer 11

Interquartile range or IQR

Question 12

It is a measure of variability, based on dividing a data set into quartiles.

Answer 12

Interquartile range or IQR

Question 13

divide a rank-ordered data set into four equal parts

Answer 13

Quartile

Question 14

is the “middle” value in the first half of the rank-ordered data set

Answer 14

Q1

Question 15

is the median value in the set.

Answer 15

Q2

Question 16

is the “middle” value in the second half of the rank-ordered data set.

Answer 16

Q3

Question 17

The interquartile range is equal to

Answer 17

Q3 - Q1

Question 18

equals the mean of the squared deviations

Answer 18

Variance

Question 19

Variance is the average squared distance from the mean

Answer 19

True

Question 20

is a measure of variability that tells us how the scores cluster around the mean

Answer 20

Standard deviation

Question 21

The standard deviation is the most commonly used and the most important measure of variability.

Answer 21

True

Question 22

Standard deviation uses the ____ of the distribution as a reference point and measures variability by considering the ________ between each score and the mean

Answer 22

mean, distance

Question 23

In simple terms, the standard deviation provides a measure of the standard or average, distance from the mean, and describes whether the scores are clustered closely around the mean or are widely scattered.

Answer 23

True

Question 24

Remember that the purpose of standard deviation is to measure the standard distance from the ____.

Answer 24

mean

Question 25

It is important to consider other
characteristics of the distribution of scores
beside the mean.

Answer 25

True

Question 26

The difference between the three sets lies in ___________.

Answer 26

variability