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PSYC*1010 > PSYC*1010 Chapter 1: Intro to Statistics > Flashcards

PSYC*1010 Chapter 1: Intro to Statistics Flashcards

1
Q

What is a theory?

A

A principal that attempts to explain the observed relationship between variables and is supported by a wide range of evidence

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2
Q

A ________ is informed by a ___________.

A

Hypothesis, Theory

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3
Q

What is a hypothesis?

A

An educated guess about the potential relationship between variables

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4
Q

Hypotheses must be ___________.

A

Falsifiable

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5
Q

What is an experimental hypothesis?

A

The prediction made about the outcome of an experiment

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6
Q

Why is an experimental hypothesis different from a theory?

A

Experimental hypotheses don’t explain the reasoning of findings nor do they contain anything that cannot be directly observed

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7
Q

What are the three goals of the scientific method?

A
  • Objectively observe and describe associations among variables
  • Predict new observations by generalizing findings
  • Explain why the observed association between variables occured
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8
Q

How are theories tested?

A
  • Select and operationally define variables
  • Set a hypothesis
  • Determine a study sample
  • Attempt to account for sources of error
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9
Q

Can a theory ever be proven?

A
  • No
  • Research never “proves” a theory, it simply provides evidence to further support it
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10
Q

What are statistics?

A

A set of mathematical procedure for organizing, summarizing, and interpreting information

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11
Q

What are the two general purposes of statistics?

A
  • To organize and summarize information
  • To determine which general conclusions are justified
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12
Q

What is the difference between a population and a sample?

A
  • Population: the set of all individuals of interest in a study
  • Sample: the set of individuals selected from a population
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13
Q

What does every population (or sample) of individuals produce?

A

A corresponding population (or sample) of scores

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14
Q

What is the goal of a sample?

A

To generalize the results back to the entire popualtion

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15
Q

How should a sample be identified?

A

In terms of the population from which it was selected

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16
Q

What are the two types of samples?

A
  • Random
  • Convenience
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17
Q

What is the difference between random and convenience samples?

A
  • Random: Everyone has an equal chance of being included in the study
  • Convenience: Some people have a chance of being in the study, but most people do not
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18
Q

What are three places error can creep in when testing a theory?

A
  • Construct validity
  • Confounds/confounding variables
  • Sampling error
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19
Q

What is a variable?

A

A characteristic or condition that changes for different individuals

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20
Q

What is a datum?

A

A single measurement or observation

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21
Q

What is a data set

A

A collection of measurements or observations

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22
Q

What is the difference between a parameter and a statistic?

A
  • Parameter: describes a population
  • Statistic: describes a sample
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23
Q

How does research typically begin?

A

With a question about the population parameter

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24
Q

How are parameters derived?

A

From measurements of the individuals in the population

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25
Q

How are statistics derived?

A

From measurements of the individuals in a sample

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26
Q

What does every population parameter have?

A

A corresponding sample statistic

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27
Q

What are the two classes of statistics?

A
  • Descriptive statistical methods
  • Inferential statistical methods
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28
Q

What are descriptive statistics?

A

Techniques used to summarize, organize, and simplify data

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29
Q

What are inferential statistics?

A

Techniques that allow for generalizations and inferences about the populations from which a sample was selected

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30
Q

What do inferential statistics help differentiate between?

A

Whether a discrepancy between samples was caused by the IV or a sampling error

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31
Q

Which type of statistics helps determine what conclusions were justified by the results?

A

Inferential statistics

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32
Q

What is a sampling error?

A

A naturally occurring discrepancy or error between a sample statistic and the corresponding population parameter

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33
Q

How are individual variables typically described in descriptive research when they consist of numerical values?

A

By statistical techniques

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34
Q

How are individual variables typically described in descriptive research when they consist of non-numerical values?

A

By computing the proportion or percentage in each category

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35
Q

What are the two main types of research methods and statistical techniques?

A
  • Correlational method
  • Experimental and quasi-experimental methods
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36
Q

What is a correlational study?

A

A study in which one group of individuals is observed and two (or more) variables for each individual are measured to determine if there’s a relationship between them

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37
Q

T or F: Variables in a correlational study are not manipulated.

A

True

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38
Q

How are the variables in a correlational study observed?

A

As they exist naturally

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39
Q

What is a correlation?

A

A statistic that measures and describes the relationship between the numerical scores of two variables

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40
Q

What are the limitations of a correlational study?

A

They can’t demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship.

41
Q

How is the relationship between variables examined in experimental and quasi-experimental studies?

A

By using an independent variable to define the groups, then measuring the dependent variable to obtain scores for each group

42
Q

How are numerical scores typically evaluated in experimental and quasi-experimental studies?

A

By computing the average score for each group and comparing them

43
Q

How are non-numerical scores typically evaluated in experimental and quasi-experimental studies?

A

By computing and comparing proportions for each group

44
Q

What is the main distinction between experimental and quasi-experimental methods?

A
  • The main distinction is how the relationship between variables is interpreted
  • Experimental methods: allow for a cause-and-effect relationship to be demonstrated
  • Quasi-experimental methods: do not permit a cause-and-effect explanation
45
Q

What is the experimental method?

A

One variable is manipulated while the other is observed and measured

46
Q

What is the goal of an experimental study?

A

To demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables

47
Q

What two characteristics differentiate experiments from other types of research studies?

A
  • Manipulation
  • Control
48
Q

How is manipulation used in an experimental study?

A

The independent variable is manipulated to observe if it has an effect on the dependent variable

49
Q

What are the two categories of variables that must be controlled in an experiment?

A
  • Participant variables
  • Environmental variables
50
Q

What are participant variables?

A

Characteristics that vary between individuals (ex. age, gender, intelligence, etc)

51
Q

What are environmental variables?

A

Characteristics of the research environment (ex. lighting, time of day, weather conditions, etc)

52
Q

When does a confounded study occur?

A

When an unambiguous conclusion cannot be made because there is more than one explanation for the results

53
Q

How do confounds/confounding variables affect a study?

A

Confounds make it difficult to determine what the actual association between variables might be

54
Q

What is a confound/confounding variable?

A

An extraneous variable that makes the relationship between variables unclear

55
Q

What are three basic techniques that control other variables?

A
  • Random assignment
  • Matching
  • Holding variables constant
56
Q

What is random assignment?

A

Each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to each of the treatment conditions

57
Q

What is the goal of random assignment?

A

To distribute the participant characteristics evenly, so neither group has an advantage or disadvantage

58
Q

How can random assignment be used to control environmental variables?

A

By randomly assigning participants to different testing environments

59
Q

What is the difference between random assignment and random sampling?

A
  • Random assignment: Determines who out of the sample receives which treatment condition
  • Random sampling: Determines who out of the population is selected for the sample
60
Q

What is the goal of matching?

A

To ensure equivalent groups or environments (ex. each group is 60% female and 40% male)

61
Q

How are participant variables held constant?

A

By using only a certain demographic of participants

62
Q

What is the difference between an independent and dependent variable?

A
  • Independent variable: manipulated by the researcher
  • Dependent variable: measured and observed as the independent variable changes
63
Q

How does the measurement of variables differ between correlational and experimental/quasi-experimental methods?

A
  • Correlational study: both the dependent and the independent variables are being measured
  • Experimental/quasi-experimental: only the dependent variable is being measured
64
Q

What are antecedent conditions

A

The conditions of a variable before manipulation has occurred

65
Q

Which type of variable consists of antecedent conditions?

A

Independent variables

66
Q

What is the difference between a control condition and an experimental condition?

A
  • Control condition: individuals don’t receive the experimental treatment
  • Experimental condition: individuals receive the experimental treatment
67
Q

What is the goal of a control condition?

A

To provide a baseline for comparison with the experimental condition

68
Q

What are non-equivalent groups?

A

Groups of participants that are formed under naturally occurring circumstances

69
Q

Why are studies with nonequivalent groups not considered true experiments, and instead are classified as quasi-experiments?

A

Because the researcher does not have control over the assignment of individuals to certain groups

70
Q

What is the goal of a pre-post study?

A

To evaluate the effect of an intervening treatment or event

71
Q

How is the goal of a pre-post study achieved?

A

By comparing observations made before vs after a treatment

72
Q

Why are pre-post studies not considered true experiments, and instead are classifies as quasi-experiments?

A

Because the researcher does not have control over the passage of time or other variables related to time

73
Q

What is a quasi-independent variable?

A

The variable in a study that changes between groups/is used to create the groups, but is outside the researcher’s control

74
Q

What is a construct/hypothetical construct?

A

Internal attributes that are intangible and cannot be directly observed

75
Q

What is the goal of an operational definition?

A

To define a construct in terms of external behaviours that are observable and measurable

76
Q

What provides construct validity?

A

An appropriate operational definition

77
Q

What is a discrete variable?

A

Consists of separate, indivisible categories that are whole and countable

78
Q

T or F: Observations that differ qualitatively are considered continuous variables.

A
  • False
  • Observations that differ qualitatively are discrete variables
79
Q

What is a continuous variable?

A

Has an infinite number of possible values that fall between any two observed values

80
Q

T or F: Continuous variables consist of measurement categories that must be defined by boundaries.

A

True

81
Q

T or F: It is common to obtain identical continuous variable measurements for two different individuals

A
  • False
  • It is rare to obtain identical continuous variable measurements for two different individuals
82
Q

What is a real limit?

A

The boundaries of intervals for scores that are represented on a continuous number line

83
Q

How is the real limit separating two adjacent scores defined?

A

The real limit of two adjacent scores is located exactly halfway between the two scores

84
Q

T or F: The boundary between two intervals does not necessarily belong to one interval

A
  • True
  • The placement of a score on the boundary between two intervals depends on the rule being used to round numbers (up or down)
85
Q

How can discrete variables be classified?

A

Nominal or ordinal

86
Q

How can continuous variables be classified?

A

Interval or ratio

87
Q

What are the four main scales of measurement?

A
  • Nominal
  • Ordinal
  • Interval
  • Ratio
88
Q

What is a nominal scale of measurement?

A

Consists of measurements that are labelled and categorized, but don’t have any quantitative distinction between them

89
Q

What is an ordinal scale of measurement?

A

Consists of a set of categories that are organized directionally, but the magnitude of the directional sequence is unclear

90
Q

What do interval and ratio scales of measurement consist of?

A

A series of ordered categories that form a series of intervals that are exactly the same size

91
Q

What is the difference between interval and ratio scales of measurement?

A
  • The nature of the zero point
  • Interval scale: zero point is arbitrary and doesn’t define the absence of a variable
  • Ratio scale: anchored by a non-arbitrary zero-point that represents the absence of a variable
92
Q

T or F: measuring a construct inherently involves a nominal scale.

A
  • False
  • A construct is not inherently a nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio measurement
  • A construct is operationalized to decide how it will be measured in a study
93
Q

What is the difference between numerical and non-numerical scores?

A
  • Numerical score: compatible with basic arithmetic operations
  • Nonnumerical score: not compatible with basic arithmetic operations
94
Q

What are raw scores?

A

The original, unchanged scores obtained in a study

95
Q

Scores for a particular variable are typically represented by which letter(s)?

A

X or Y

96
Q

Which letter is used to represent the number of scores in a population?

A

N (uppercase)

97
Q

Which letter is used to represent the number of scores in a sample?

A

n (lowercase)

98
Q

What is the summation notation?

A

Sigma (Σ) represents the sum of a set of scores

99
Q

In the order of operations, when is the summation process (Σ) computed?

A

The summation process follows multiplication/division and proceeds any other addition and/or subtraction.

PSYC*1010 (13 decks)

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