research methods pt 3 Flashcards
data
information used as
part of or generated by an
investigation
primary data
data collected first-hand
by a researcher
secondary data
data sourced from others’
prior research
Quantitative data
data that is expressed
numerically
Qualitative data
data that is expressed
non-numerically
Objective data
factual data that is observed and measured independently
of personal opinion
Subjective data
data that is informed by personal opinion, perception, or interpretation
Descriptive statistics
statistics that summarise,
organise, and describe data
Measures of central
tendency
descriptive
statistics that summarise
a data set by describing
the centre of the
distribution of the data set
with a single value
Mean
a measure of
central tendency that
describes the numerical
average of a data set,
expressed as a single value
Outlier
a value that
differs significantly from
other values in a data set
Median
a measure of
central tendency that is
the middle value in a data
set ordered from lowest
to highest
Mode
a measure of
central tendency that is the
most frequently occurring
value in a data set
Measures of variability
statistics that summarise
and describe the spread
and distribution of a
data set
Range
a measure of
variability that is a value
obtained by subtracting
the lowest value in a data
set from the highest value
Standard deviation
a measure of variability,
expressed as a value that
describes the spread of
data around the mean
Accuracy
how close a
measurement is to the
true value of the quantity
being measured
True value
the value, or
range of values, that would
be found if the quantity
could be measured
perfectly
Precision
how closely a
set of measurement values
agree with each other
Systematic errors
errors in data that differ
from the true value by a
consistent amount
Random errors
errors in data that are unsystematic and occur due to chance
Uncertainty
the lack of
exact knowledge relating
to something being
measured due to potential
sources of variation in
knowledge
Repeatability
the extent
to which successive
measurements or studies
produce the same results
carried out under
identical conditions
Reproducibility
the extent to which
successive measurements
or studies produce
the same results when repeated under
different conditions
Validity
the extent to
which psychological tools
and investigations truly
support their findings
or conclusions
Internal validity
the extent to which
an investigation truly
measures or investigates
what it claims to
external validity
the extent to which the
results of an investigation
can be applied to similar
individuals in different
settings
