Week2 Flashcards
Why is studying statistics important in psychology?
Psychology is a science, and understanding research often requires quantitative methods and statistical analysis
What are the three main steps in the research process?
1) Conduct research, 2) Interpret results, 3) Communicate findings.
What are the two types of statistics?
Descriptive and inferential statistics.
What does descriptive statistics do?
It summarizes data through measures like frequency, central tendency, dispersion, and position
What is inferential statistics used for?
Testing hypotheses based on data type, scale, and number of groups.
What are the four types of data scales?
Nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio.
What is a nominal scale?
A scale for categorizing data without meaningful order (e.g., eye color).
What is an ordinal scale?
A scale with an order but no fixed intervals (e.g., race position).
Describe an interval scale.
Ordered, equidistant values without a true zero (e.g., temperature).
What is a ratio scale?
A scale with ordered, equidistant values and a true zero (e.g., time).
What is a frequency distribution?
It organizes raw data into a manageable form, often using graphs.
When do you use a histogram?
For ordinal, interval, and ratio data to show frequency distribution.
What type of graph is used for nominal data?
A bar chart.
What are the three main characteristics of frequency distributions?
Shape, central tendency, and variability.
What does a unimodal distribution look like?
It has a single peak in the center.
Define a bimodal distribution.
A distribution with two distinct peaks.
What is a normal distribution?
Symmetrical about the middle, with one central peak.
What does it mean if a distribution is skewed?
It is asymmetrical, with a longer tail on either the right (positive skew) or left (negative skew).
What is the mode?
The most common value in a data set.
How is the median defined?
The middle value in an ordered data set, with 50% of scores above and below it.
What is the mean?
The average of all values, found by dividing the sum of all values by the number of values.
Which measure of central tendency is used for nominal data?
Mode
What does a central tendency measure tell us?
It provides insight into a typical score in the data set.
Why is it important to understand the shape of a data distribution?
Some statistical tests assume a specific data distribution, which affects the reliability of test results.
