Research Methods: Descriptive Statistics

Contains questions about:

  • measures of central tendency
  • measures of dispersion
  • calculations of percentages
  • positive, negative and zero correlations
  • presentation and display of quantitative data (NOT SOON)
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  • Created by: Lillith7
  • Created on: 16-02-21 11:45
Outline what is meant by 'descriptive statistics'.
-summary of QUANTATIVE DATA
-use of GRAPHS, TABLES and SUMMARY STATISTICS
-IDENTIFY TRENDS and ANALYSE sets of data
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Define 'measures of central tendency'.
-measure of the AVERAGE VALUE in a set of data
2 of 31
Define 'measures of dispersion'.
-measure of the SPREAD or VARIATION in a set of data
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How do you calculate the 'mean'?
-sum of all values in a set of data / number of values in a set of data
4 of 31
How do you calculate the 'median'?
-data arrange in order from smallest to largest and middle value selected
-if even number of values in a set of data,
sum of two middle numbers / 2
5 of 31
How do you calculate the 'mode'?
-most frequently-occurring value in a set of data
6 of 31
How do you calculate the 'range'?
-(highest value-lowest value)+1
7 of 31
What measure of tendency is the range most appropriately used with?
-the median
8 of 31
Define 'Standard deviation'.
-measure of the spread of scores around the measure of central tendency
9 of 31
What measure of tendency is standard deviation most appropriately used with?
-the mean
10 of 31
What does a HIGH standard deviation tell us about the spread of data?
-WIDE spread of data
- indicates that there may be a few anomalous results
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What does a LOW standard deviation tell us about the spread of data?
-CLOSE spread of data
- results from all participants are fairly similar
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What three questions should you consider when evaluating measures of central tendency and measure of dispersion?
- is the value REPRESENTATIVE?
-is it EASILY DISTORTED by extreme values?
-can it be used on all TYPES OF DATA?
13 of 31
Evaluate the appropriateness of the mean as a measure of central tendency.
-STRENGTH: most sensitive as uses all values in the set of data making it representative
-LIMITATION: easily distorted by a few extreme values making it become unrepresentative
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Evaluate the appropriateness of the median as a measure of central tendency.
-STRENGTH: not easily distorted by extreme values so has a higher change of being representative
-LIMITATION: not as representative as the mean as it doesn't take all values into account
15 of 31
State two strengths of the mode as a measure of central tendency.
-not easily distorted as only frequent values taken into account
-can be used with all types of data unlike the mean and median
16 of 31
State two limitations of the mode as a measure of central tendency.
-unrepresentative as doesn't account for all values
-not useful when there is more than one or no values that (equally) frequently-occur
17 of 31
What measure of tendency should you give when asked, 'state which measure of central tendency is most appropriate for this set of data and explain your reasons why.'
1) MEAN- most sensitive as uses all values of data making it representative
2) MEDIAN - there are a few extreme values that may distort the mean
3) MODE - the mean and median can not be used due to the type of data
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What are the strengths of using the range as a measure of dispersion?
-easy to calculate
-basic information of the spread of values
-calculated on most types of data
-reveals extreme values
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What are the limitations of using the range as a measure of dispersion?
-easily distorted by extreme values becoming unrepresentative
-unrepresentative as only takes into account the highest and lowest value in a set of data
-doesn't show much about the dispersion of values suggesting standard deviation is better
20 of 31
What are the strengths of using standard deviation as a measure of dispersion?
-most accurate and representative as takes each exact value into account
-more useful than the range as shows the dispersion of values
21 of 31
What are the limitations of using standard deviation as a measure of dispersion?
-easily distorted by extreme values becoming unrepresentative
-extreme values may not be revealed unlike with the range
22 of 31
How do you convert a percentage into a decimal?
-divide by 100
23 of 31
How do you convert a decimal into a percentage?
-multiply by 100
24 of 31
How do you convert a fraction into a percentage?
-multiply by 100
25 of 31
How do you convert a percentage into a fraction?
-divide by 100
-simplify the fraction if possible
26 of 31
Outline what is meant by 'correlation'.
-looking for a RELATIONSHIP between two co-variables
- e.g. there's a relationship between sugar consumption and tooth decay
- way of analysing data
27 of 31
Outline what is meant by 'positive correlation'.
-as one co-variable increases so does the other
- e.g. as more drinks containing caffeine are consumed, anxiety levels increase
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Outline what is meant by 'negative correlation'.
-as one co-variable increases the other decreases
- e.g. s more drinks containing caffeine are consumed, the amount of hours asleep decreases
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Outline what is meant by 'zero correlation'.
-there is no relationship between the two co-variable
-e.g. drinks containing caffeine consumed and the amount of dogs seen
30 of 31
I feel confident on descriptive statistics.
STRONGLY AGREE
AGREE
NOT SURE
DISAGREE
STRONGLY DISAGREE
STRONGLY AGREE/AGREE: Yay!!! Now take a break before moving onto something else
NOT SURE: Maybe one more try...
DISAGREE/STRONGLY DISAGREE: Don't give up. Try something else and come back later.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Define 'measures of central tendency'.

Back

-measure of the AVERAGE VALUE in a set of data

Card 3

Front

Define 'measures of dispersion'.

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

How do you calculate the 'mean'?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

How do you calculate the 'median'?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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