Types of Data

Question 1

Quantitative Data

Answer 1

Numerical data

eg reaction time or number of wins

Question 2

One Strength of Quantitative Data

Answer 2

+ Easier to analyse. Can draw graphs and calculate averages. Can eyeball data and see patterns at a glance

Question 3

One Limitation of Quantitative Data

Answer 3

• Oversimplifies behaviour. eg using rating scale to express feelings. Means that individual meanings are lost

Question 4

Qualitative Data

Answer 4

Non-numerical data expressed in words

eg extract from a diary

Question 5

One Strength of Qualitative Data

Answer 5

+ Represents complexities. More detail included (such as explaining your feelings). Can also include information that is unexpected

Question 6

One Limitation of Qualitative Data

Answer 6

• Less easy to analyse. Large amount of detail is difficult to summarise. Therefore, it is difficult to draw conclusions

Question 7

Primary Data

Answer 7

First hand data collected for the purpose of the investigation

Question 8

One Strength of Primary Data

Answer 8

+ Fits the job. Study designed to extract only the data needed. Information is directly relevant to research aims

Question 9

One Limitation of Primary Data

Answer 9

• Requires time and effort. Design may involve planning and preparation. Secondary data can be accessed within minutes

Question 10

Secondary Data

Answer 10

Collected by someone other than the person who is conducting the research
(eg taken from books, journals, articles etc)

Question 11

One Strength of Secondary Data

Answer 11

+ Inexpensive. The desired information may already exist. Therefore, requires minimal effort making it inexpensive

Question 12

One Limitation of Secondary Data

Answer 12

• Quality may be poor. Information may be outdated or incomplete. Therefore, challenges the validity of the conclusions

Question 13

Meta-Analysis

Answer 13

A type of secondary data that involves combining data from a large number of studies.
Calculation of effect size

Question 14

One Strength of Meta-Analysis

Answer 14

+ Increases validity of conclusions. The eventual sample size is much larger than individual samples. Therefore, increases the extent to which generalisations can be made

Question 15

One Limitation of Meta-Analysis

Answer 15

• Publication bias. Researchers may not select all relevant studies, leaving out negative or non-significant results. Data may be biased because it only represents some of the data and incorrect conclusions are drawn

Question 16

Mean

Answer 16

Arithmetic average.

Add up all the scores and divide by the number of socres

Question 17

One Strength of the Mean

Answer 17

+ Sensitive. Includes all the scores in the data set within the calculation. Therefore, more of an overall impression of the average than median or mode

Question 18

One Limitation of the Mean

Answer 18

• May be unrepresentative. One very large or small number makes it distorted. The median or mode tend not to be so easily distorted

Question 19

Median

Answer 19

Middle value.
Place scores in ascending order and select middle value if there are two values in the middle, the mean of these is calculated

Question 20

One Strength of the Median

Answer 20

+ Unaffected by extreme scores. The median is only focused on the middle value. Therefore, it may be more representative of the data set as a whole

Question 21

One Limitation of the Median

Answer 21

• Less sensitive than the mean. Not all scores are included in the calculation of the median. Therefore, extreme values may be important

Question 22

Mode

Answer 22

Most frequent or common value.

Used with categorical/nominal data

Question 23

One Strength of the Mode

Answer 23

+ Relevant to categorical data. When the data is discrete (ie represented in categories). Sometimes, the mode is the only appropriate measure

Question 24

One Limitation of the Mode

Answer 24

• An overly simple measure. There may be many modes in a data set. It is not a useful way of describing data when there are many modes

Question 25

Range

Answer 25

The difference between highest to lowest value (+1)

Question 26

One Strength of the Range

Answer 26

+ Easy to calculate. Arrange values in order and subtract largest from smallest. Simple formula, easier than the standard deviation

Question 27

One Limitation of the Range

Answer 27

• Doesn’t account for the distribution of the scores. The range doesn’t indicate whether most numbers are closely grouped around the mean or spread out evenly. The standard deviation is a much better measure of dispersion in this respect.

Question 28

Standard Deviation

Answer 28

Measure of the average spread around the mean. The larger the standard deviation, the more spread out the data is

Question 29

One Strength of the Standard Deviation

Answer 29

+ More precise than the range. Includes all values within the calculating. Therefore, a more accurate picture of the overall distribution of the data set

Question 30

One Limitation of the Standard Deviation

Answer 30

• It may be misleading. May hide some of the characteristics of the data set. Therefore, extreme values may not be revealed, unlike with the range

Question 31

Three Types of Measures of Central Tendency

Answer 31

Mean
Median
Mode

Question 32

Two Types of Measures of Dispersion

Answer 32

Range

Standard Deviation