Statistics

Question 1

Measures of central tendency

Answer 1

Used to analyse, organise, summarise and descrive data. Measure of central tendency are an often used descriptive statistic, as they descrive the data for whole groups with a single score, providing a score that is typical for a set of scores.

Mean

• arithmetical average
• = sum/number
• reliable if data clusters closely around a central score
• unreliable if scores are widely spread

Median

• the middle-sized score in a range of scores ordered by size (midpoint)
• impractical for large amounts of data
• reliable for when exteme scores occur in a data set

Mode

• most frequently occuring score in a set
• single score can alter the mode dramatically is it’s a small sample
• no commonly used

Question 2

Interpretation of p values

Answer 2

refers to the p-value given to the results of the study. It refers to the level of significance of the results and indicates whether the results that were obtained were due to chance or not. For example, if the p-value is set as p<0.03, the there is a less than a 3% chance that the results obtained were due to chance, and not the effect of the independent variable