Research Methods 4: Data analysis 😬 Flashcards
What are the two types of data?
-Quantitative data
-Qualitative data
What are some properties of qualitative data?
-Non-numerical
-Finds out what people think and how they feel
-Qualitative analysis can be used
-Collected in case studies, unstructured observations and unstructured interviews.
What are some properties of quantitative data?
-Numerical data
-Involves measuring something
-Statistical analysis can be used
-Collected in experiment-based research methods
What is a strength of quantitative data?
-It is less subjective than qualitative
What is a strength of qualitative data?
-It gives the researcher more detailed and in-depth data because participants can elaborate on their answers.
What is primary data?
The original data that has been collected first-hand, by the researcher specifically towards a research aim. This is data which has NOT been published before.
What is secondary data?
Data collected second-hand, towards another research aim, which has been published before.
What is the strength and weakness of primary data?
-Primary data is more valid as it has been specifically created for the purpose of the hypothesis and has been controlled
-Primary data is very expensive and time consuming to conduct
What is the strength and weakness of secondary data?
-secondary data is cheaper and quicker to use as
-Secondary data is less valid as it might not fit the needs of the hypothesis exactly
If there’s two white balls and 4 black balls in a bag, what is the ratio of white balls to black balls?
2:4
what would be 9,162,375,231 to one significant figure?
9,000,000,000
what is 8,600,000,000 in standard form?
8.6x10⁹
What do descriptive statistics let us do?
Describe and summarise quantitative data
What are the two types of summaries of results in descriptive statistics?
-Measures of central tendency
-Measures of dispersion
What does a measure of central tendency do?
Reduce a large amount of data to a single value, which is representative of that data
What are the three measures of central tendency?
-Mean
-Median
-Mode
Which of: mean, mode or median would you choose to use in a set of data?
-The most appropriate one
What is the mean in a set of data?
The statistical average of a set of data
How is a mean found?
By adding all the scores together and dividing by the number of values.
What is the advantage and disadvantage of using mean?
😀It uses all the scores and is therefore more representative of the data than other measures
😫It can be distorted by extreme scores (outliers/anomaly’s)
What is the median in a set of data?
The central value of a set of data
How is a median found?
By firstly putting the data into rank and then finding the middle score.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Median?
😀It is unaffected by extreme values. Therefore if a set of data has extreme values, median would be appropriate
😀It’s easier to calculate
😣It only takes into account one or two scores
What is the mode in a set of data?
The score that occurs the most often
How is a mode calculated?
By a frequency count
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Mode?
😀It is unaffected by extreme values.
😀It is easier to calculate than mean
😫It is not useful in small sets of data or when there are too many modes
😫It doesnt take into account the other scores
What are the two measures of dispersion?
-Range
-Standard deviation
How is range found?
-By taking away the lowest score from the highest score
How is standard deviation found?
-By making a graph and measuring the width of the peak
What would a thin curve and fat curve say about standard deviation?
Fat curve- wider spread of winrates = high S.D
Thin curve- winrates remain close to the mean average = Low S.D
What are the three main types of graphs?
-Bar chart
-Histogram
-Frequency Polygon
Where are categories placed in bar charts?
On the x-axis
What is the main difference between bar charts and histograms?
The main difference is that histograms are used for continuous data, such as test scores e.g. graph below.
What are the properties of a frequency polygon (line graph)
-Similar to a histogram in that the data on the x-axes are continuous.
-Produced by drawing a line from the mid-point top of each bar in a histogram
What is the advantage of frequency polygons?
-Two or more frequency distributions can be displayed on the same graph in comparison
What are the two types of tables?
-Results table, which is the main findings of the study
-Data table, which is the raw scores from the research study
What does a normal distribution bell curve look like?
The mean, mode and median are all located at the highest peak, to create a symmetrical spread of data.
What is a skewed distribution?
Where the bell curve appears to lean to one side
What is a positive skewed distribution?
Where the distribution is concentrated to the left of the graph, with the tail pointing to the right
What is a negative skewed distribution?
Where the distribution is concentrated to the right of the graph and the tail is pointing to the left.
