Unit 1 Flashcards
Introduction to data analysis
What is present wherever knowledge is developed?
Statistics
What are the 2 types of research?
Qualitative research and Quantitative research
What are the essential stages in research?
Research question
Documentation
Hypothesis formulation
Study design
Collect data
Analyze data
Interpret results
What is population in statistics?
consists of all the elements that share the characteristic under study:
people, animals, institutions, cities, etc.
what are some examples of quantifiable (finite) populations?
Social Security registrations
deaths in 2021
secondary school students.
what are examples of hardly quantifiable (infinite) populations?
Coin tosses
People with high motivation
Human beings
What distinguishes finite populations from infinite populations?
Finite populations have a specific, countable number of elements (like secondary school students), while infinite populations cannot be easily counted (like coin tosses or highly motivated people).
What is a sample in statistics?
a subset of the total number of elements that make up the population
What is important in samples?
it must be representative
What factors contribute to a representative sample?
includes size, sampling methods, simple random sampling
What are units of analysis?
elements between which some quality is compared, they are the subjects or individuals being studied, in a general way.
What is an example of a unit analysis when studying motivation?
An example would be people with high motivation at UCAM, where each individual serves as a unit of analysis.
What are statistics?
Statistics are values representing quantitative properties of a sample, such as sample means (X̄), sample standard deviations (S), and sample proportions (P)
What are parameters in statistics?
values representing quantitative properties of a population, such as means (𝜇), standard deviations (𝜎), and proportions (𝜋)
What do the letters “N” and “n” stand for?
“N” stands for the size of the population, while “n” denotes the size of the sample
Which letters are used for parameters?
Parameters use Greek letters (e.g., 𝜇 for the mean, 𝜎 for standard deviation)
Which letters are used for statistics?
Statistics use Latin letters (e.g., X̄ for the mean, S for standard deviation)
What is the difference between a population and a sample?
The population is the entire group being studied, while the sample is a subset of that group used for analysis.
How does statistics contribute knowledge to psychology?
Statistics provides tools to analyze and interpret data, helping psychologists summarize information and draw meaningful conclusions.
What is the goal of descriptive statistics?
to summarize a set of information in order to interpret it and draw conclusions
What are descriptive statistics?
they summarize and organize a set of data from a sample to provide insights, such as graphs, percentages and means
What is the goal of inferential statistics?
based on probability calculations, and from the sample data, estimate, predict or generalize conclusions.
What question do we address with inferential statistics?
they help us determine if the observations from a sample can be generalized to a larger population
What are some examples of methods used in inferential statistics?
Hypothesis testing and regression analysis
-> help estimate unknown properties of the population.
What are variables?
Variables are features of the units of analysis that can change or vary between people, over time, or between situations
What is a constant in statistics?
Modality or value shared by all the units of analysis
-> the opposite to a variable
How are hypotheses defined in terms of variables?
all hypotheses are defined in terms of at least two variables
-> one representing a proposed cause and the other representing a proposed result
In an experiment/quasi, what are the proposed cause and proposed result?
Proposed cause: Independent variabel
Proposed result: Dependent variable
What is a dependent variable?
The outcome or effect that is measured in an experiment.
What is an independent variable?
The factor that is manipulated or changed to observe its effect on the dependent variable.
In cross-section/long studies, what are the variables for proposed cause and proposed result?
Proposed cause: Predictive variable
Proposed result: Result variable
What is an example of an independent and dependent variable? (Energy Drinks)
“Energetic drinks decrease fatigue”
independent variable: energetic drinks
dependent variable: fatigue