Unit 3 Definitions Flashcards
What is primary data?
Data gathered directly by the researcher.
[Ex: Yourself]
What is secondary data?
Data gathered by someone other than the researcher.
[Ex: Your friend]
What is a numerical (quantatative) variable?
A variable quantified by an amount or number. A numerically measured amount.
[Ex: Height]
What is a categorical (qualatative) variable?
A variable grouped into various categories and defined as such. These variables are often described instead of quantified and are broken into two more sub-categories: Ordinal and Nominal.
[Ex: Sex]
What is a continuous variable?
A numerical variable that may assume an infinite number for its measurement.
[Ex: How far someone walks]
What is a discrete variable?
A numerical value that may assume a finite number for its measurement.
[Ex: X can only equal 1, 3, 5, and 1,000]
What is experimentational data?
Data gathered from experimentation.
[Ex: How the height of an egg drop effects its damage threshold]
What is observational data?
Data gathered from observing a test subject rather than intefering directly. The test subject is observed and behaviour is noted.
[Ex: Taking note of the height of a certain plant over the course of a week]
What is a nominal variable?
A type of data that describes a name, label, or category with no natural order.
[Ex: History does not follow biology]
What is an ordinal variable?
A type of data that does pertain to a natural order but the distance between these values are undefined. Normally includes something with a categorical scale.
[Ex: Rate on a 5-star basis how much you enjoyed something]
What is microdata?
Data based on a survey that contains records for each individual interviewed.
[Ex: Annual income for certain invidiauls within a larger population]
What is aggredata?
Data based on a survery that does not contain records for each individual interviewed. It organised into various groups and sums up a common ideology.
[Ex: Annual income for a certain city]
What is simple random sampling?
A sample is chosen at random from an entire population with each having an equal chance of being selected.
[Ex: Out of a line of 10 people, 1 is randomly selected using a random number generator]
What is systematic random sampling?
A starting point for a sample is chosen at random and is increased or decreased at regular and consistent intervals.
[Ex: Out of a line of 30 people, the 6th person is selected and every 2nd person from that person onward is also selected]
What is stratified random sampling?
The population is divided into various groups based on common characteristics. For each group, simple random sampling is conducted and the size of each sample is proportional to the size of the group.
