RM- Data Flashcards
Quantitative data
Numerical data that can be statistically analysed
Qualitative data
Language conveyed via words, gathered in interviews, questionnaires etc
Evaluation of quantitative data
✅Easy to analyse
❌Lacks detail
Evaluation of qualitative data
✅Rich in detail
❌Difficult to analyse
Primary data
Collected first hand for the study that is being carried out
Secondary data
Has been collected previously by another researcher, not for the specific aim of your study
Evaluation of primary data
✅Controlled by researcher and focused on the study’s aims
❌Requires time, effort and money
Evaluation of secondary data
✅Cost and time effective
❌Not specific to the researchers aims
Meta analysis
Uses secondary data from a number of studies to form a joint conclusion
Evaluation of meta analysis
✅Large sample of data and participants, inc. validity and generalisability
❌Data from previous researchers may be inaccurate and some studies may have been picked to support the researchers hypothesis
Descriptive statistics
Ways of analysing data that show patterns or trends of the results
Calculating mean
Add all items and divide by number of items
✅❌ Mean
✅Takes all data into account
❌Can be skewed by anomalies
Calculating median
Put items in ascending order, take middle score
✅❌ Median
✅Not skewed by anomalies
❌Does not reflect all data
Calculating mode
Take the most frequently occurring score/item of data
✅❌ Mode
✅Can be used with categoric data
❌Can be multiple modes
❌Not reflective of all data
Measures of central tendency
Mean, median and mode (Averages)
Measures of dispersion
Calculate the spread of data:
Range and Standard Deviation
Calculating range
Subtract smallest item from largest item
✅❌ Range
✅Simple to understand
❌ Only reflects extreme values
Calculating standard deviation
Taking the average of how much each score deviates from the mean (if all scores are the same, SD is zero)
✅❌ Standard deviation
✅Reflects the spread of data
❌Can be skewed by anomalies
Types of graphs
Bar chart
Histogram
Line graph
Scatter graph
What do scatter graphs show
Correlation between to variables
Correlation can either be…
1.Positive or negative
2.Strong or weak
What do distribution graphs show
The percentage of a population which fall into categories
What does normal distribution look like
A bell curve
What is a positively skewed distribution
Where the mean is higher than the median and mode (leans to the left)
What is a negatively skewed distribution
Where the mean in lower than the median and mode (leans to the right)
Formula for percentage change
Change / original x 100
