Unit 8 Flashcards
Deductive Research Paradigm
- Deductive approach
- top-down (large to small)
- Theory-hypothesis-test hypothesis-specific answer
- requires statistics to interpret large amounts of data (quantitative)
Inductive Research Paradigm
- Inductive approach
- Bottom-up (small to large)
- Generalize-analysis-data
- generally fluid, qualitative approach
- “research in ABA is typically inductive but also quantitative
Descriptive Statistics
the goal of descriptive statistics is to describe properties of the sample you are working with
- central tendency
- variability
- effect size
Reasons to Use Descriptive Statistics in ABA:
- complement visual analysis
- Program Evaluation
- We use Descriptive Statistics already (level change and IOA)
- May help gather funding
Reasons to not Use Descriptive Statistics in ABA:
-may hide trends
Inferential Statistics
- the goal of inferential statistics is to use sample data as the basis for answering questions about the population
- since we rely on samples, we must better understand how they relate to populations (use hypothesis testing to reach that goal-T-tests, ANOVA)
Reasons for using Inferential Statistics in ABA:
- appropriate for certain types of research
- may open doors for funding
- perceived weakness of reliance on visual analysis in ABA
Reasons for not using Inferential Statistics in ABA:
- don’t tell us how likely the results are to be replicated
- don’t tell us the probability that the results were due to chance
- the probability is a conditional probability
- best way to increase your chances of significance is increasing number of participants
- large number of variables that will have very small effects become important
- limits the reasons for doing experiments
- reduce scientific responsibility
- emphasize population parameters at the expense of bx
- “behavior is something an individual does, not what a group average does”
- *we should be attending to:
- value/social significance
- durability of changes
- number and characteristics of participants that improve in a socially significant manner
One reason for using descriptive statistics in ABA is that they:
Complement visual analysis
Inferential statistics involve decisions about ______levels of data
Inferential statistics involve decisions about ORGANISM levels of data
A focus on inferential statistics may take the focus away from:
Socially significant results
Four types of Data:
- Nominal (name)
- Ordinal (order)
- Interval
- Ratio
Nominal Data
(name)
- refers to categories
- examples: school districts, colors
Ordinal Data
(order)
- quantities that have an order
- examples: first place/second/third, pain scale
Interval Data
- difference between each value is even
- never a True Zero
- Examples: degrees Fahrenheit
Ratio Data
- difference between each value is even
- has a True Zero
- Examples: time, weight, SIB
Three measures of central tendency?
- Mean
- Median
- Mode
Mean
- the sum of the scores divided by the number of scores
- advantage of the mean: every number in the distribution is used in its calculation
- most preferred measure
Median
- score that divides the distribution exactly in half
- Median split: gives researchers two groups of equal sizes: low scores/high scores
- middle score
When to use the median:
- extreme scores/skewed distributions
- undetermined values
- open-ended distributions
Mode
- score or category that has the greatest frequency (the peak)
- A distribution can have more than one mode
1. Bimodal: two modes/peaks, these can be equal or major/minor
2. Multimodal: more than two modes - Easy to find in basic frequency distribution tables
- the mode is NOT a frequency-it is a score/category
When to use the mode
- it can be used in place of or in conjunction with other measures of central tendency
1. Nominal scales: only measure of central tendency for nominal scales
2. Discrete variables: what is “most typical” the goal of measure of central tendency
3. Describing shape: easy to figure out
What is the most representative method of reporting central tendency in your data when you have extreme scores?
median
The most common method of reporting central tendency is
mean
The mode is an ideal measure of central tendency for
nominal variables
The median is an ideal measure of central tendency for
- extreme scores/skewed distributions
- undetermined values
- open-ended distributions
Variability
-provides a quantitative measure of the degree to which scores in a distribution are spread out or clustered together
Three measures of variability
- range
- interquartile range
- standard deviation