R&e Ch. 6

Front 1

bar chart?

Back 1

depict trends and distributions of data

Front 2

Charts?

Back 2

portray the complex relationships among variables in correlational research designs

Front 3

cleaning the data?

Back 3

is the process of visually inspecting the data for scores (or values) that are outside the accepted range of scores.

Front 4

Codebook?

Back 4

are lists of variables or questions that indicate how the researcher will code or score responses from instruments or checklists

Front 5

confidence interval?

Back 5

are the range of upper and lower sample statistical values that are consistent with observed data and are likely to contain the actual population mean

Front 6

critical region?

Back 6

is the area on the normal curve for low probability values if the null hypothesis is true.

Front 7

degrees of freedom?

Back 7

indicate to the researcher how much data was used to calculate a particular statistic, usually one less than the number of scores.

Front 8

descriptive statistics?

Back 8

present information that helps a researcher describe responses to each question in a database as well as determine overall trends and the distribution of the data.

Front 9

effect size?

Back 9

is a means for identifying the strength of the conclusions about group differences of about the relationship among variables in a quantitative study. The calculation of this coefficient differs for statistical tests

Front 10

Figure?

Back 10

are summaries of quantitative information presented as a chart, graph, or picture that shows relations among scores or variables.

Front 11

future research directions?

Back 11

are suggestions made by the researcher about additional studies that need to be conducted based on the results of the present research.

Front 12

hypothesis testing?

Back 12

is a procedure for making decisions about results by comparing an observed value with a population value to determine if no difference or relationship exists between the values.

Front 13

Implications?

Back 13

in a study are those suggestions for the importance of the study for different audiences. They elaborate on the significance for audiences presented initially in the statement of the problem.

Front 14

inferential statistics?

Back 14

enable a researcher to draw conclusions, inferences, or generalizations from a sample to a population of participants.

Front 15

inputting the data?

Back 15

means that the researcher transfers the data from the responses on instruments to a computer file for analysis.

Front 16

Limitations?

Back 16

are potential weaknesses or problems in quantitative research that are identified by the researcher. In quant research, these weaknesses are enumerated one by one, and they often relate to inadequate measures of variables, loss or lack of participants, small sample sizes, errors in measurement, and other factors typically related to data collection and analysis.

Front 17

line graphs?

Back 17

display the interaction between two variables in an experiment.

Front 18

measures of central tendency?

Back 18

are summary numbers that represent a single value in a distribution of scores.

Front 19

measures of relative standing?

Back 19

are statistics that describe one score relative to a group of scores. Two frequently used statistics are the z score and the percentile rank.

Front 20

missing data?

Back 20

is information that is not supplied by participants to specific questions or items. This is because information may be lost, individuals may skip questions, participants may be absent when observational data is collected, or persons may actually refuse to complete a sensitive question.

Front 21

net or difference scores?

Back 21

are scores in a quant study in which the researcher develops a score that represents a difference or change for each individual.

Front 22

normal distribution or normal probability curve?

Back 22

is a distribution of scores by participants that can be represented by a graph that approximates a bell-shaped curve.

Front 23

one-tailed test of significance?

Back 23

are when the region for rejection of the null hypothesis is placed only at one end of the distribution.

Front 24

percentile rank?

Back 24

of a particular score is the percentage of participants in the distribution with scores at or below a particular score.

Front 25

Power?

Back 25

in a quant hypothesis testing is the probability of correctly rejecting a false null hypothesis.

Front 26

Preparing and organizing data for analysis?

Back 26

in quant. research consists of assembling all data, transforming it into numeric scores, creating a data file for computer or hand tabulation, and selecting a computer program to use in performing statistical tests on the data.

Front 27

presentation of results?

Back 27

in quant research is where the investigator presents detailed information about the specific results of the descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.

Front 28

range of scores?

Back 28

is the difference between the highest and lowest scores for items on an instrument.

Front 29

Scatterplots?

Back 29

is a pictorial image of two sets of scores for participants on a graph.

Front 30

scoring data?

Back 30

means that the researcher assigns a numeric score or value to each response category for each question on the instruments used to collect data.

Front 31

significance level or 'alpha level'?

Back 31

is the probability level that describes the maximum risk that you are willing to take that any observed differences are due to chance. It is called the alpha level and is typically set at .01 or .05.

Front 32

single-item score?

Back 32

are individual scores to each question for each participant in your study.

Front 33

standard deviation?

Back 33

is the square root of variance.

Front 34

standard score?

Back 34

are calculated scores that enable a researcher to compare scores from different scales.

Front 35

statistical significance?

Back 35

is when the observed values provide a statistical value p-value that exceeds the predetermined alpha level set by the researcher.

Front 36

Statistics?

Back 36

are the numbers derived from formulas to measure aspects of a set of data.

Front 37

Summaries?

Back 37

provide overviews of literature and research on timely issues in education.

Front 38

summed scores?

Back 38

are scores of an individual added over several questions that measure that same variable.

Front 39

two tailed test of significance?

Back 39

are when the critical region for rejection of the null hypothesis is divided into two areas of at the ends of the sampling distribution.

Front 40

type 1 error?

Back 40

occurs when the null hypothesis is rejected by the researcher when it is actually true. The probability of this error rate is called ‘alpha’.

Front 41

type 2 error?

Back 41

occurs when the researcher fails to reject the null hypothesis when an effect actually occurs in the population. The probability of the error rate is called ‘beta’.

Front 42

Values?

Back 42

are scores assigned to response options for questions.

Front 43

Variance?

Back 43

means that scores will assume different values depending on the type of variable being measured.

Front 44

z score?

Back 44

have a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1 and enable the researcher to compare scores from one instrument to scores from another instrument.

Front 45

What are the steps to analyzing and interpreting quantitative data?

Back 45

-Preparing data for analysis
-Analyzing data
-Reporting your results
-Interpreting results