Statistics Chapter 1

Front 1

Descriptive Statistics

Back 1

Used to summarize and make understandable-to describe-a group of numbers from a research study

Front 2

Inferential Statistics

Back 2

Used to draw conclusions and make inferences that are based on the numbers from a research study, but go beyond the numbers

Front 3

Variable

Back 3

A condition or characteristic that can have different values
EX:Stress level, age, gender, religion, etc.

Front 4

Value

Back 4

A number or a category
EX:0,1,2,3,4, female, Catholic

Front 5

Score

Back 5

A person's value on the variable
EX:0,1,2,3,4, female, Catholic

Front 6

Equal-Interval Variables

Back 6

Variables in which the numbers stand for about equal amounts of what is being measured
EX:GPA, Stress level, age

Front 7

Ratio Scale

Back 7

An equal-interval variable is measured on a ratio scale if it has an absolute zero point. An absolute zero point means that the value of zero on the variable indicates a complete absence of the variable.

Front 8

Discrete Variable

Back 8

Variable that has specific values and cannot have values between these specific values

Front 9

Continuous Variable

Back 9

In theory, there are an infinite number of values between any two values
EX:Height, weight, time

Front 10

Rank Order Variables or Ordinal Variables

Back 10

Numeric variable in which values correspond to the relative position of things measured
EX:Class standing, position finished in a race

Front 11

Nominal Variables or Categorical Variables

Back 11

Values are names or categories

Front 12

Grouped Frequency Table

Back 12

A frequency table that uses intervals

Front 13

Frequency Table

Back 13

A table that shows how frequently each score was used

Front 14

Histogram

Back 14

Bar chart in which the height of each bar is the frequency of each value in the frequency table

Front 15

Bar Graph

Back 15

The histogram for a nominal variable

Front 16

Frequency Polygon

Back 16

Line graph in which the height of each point shows the number of scores that have that value

Front 17

Frequency Distribution

Back 17

Shows the pattern or shape of how the frequencies are spread out or "distributed"

Front 18

Unimodal Distribution

Back 18

Distribution with one high point

Front 19

Bimodal Distribution

Back 19

Distribution that has two fairly equal high points

Front 20

Multimodal Distribution

Back 20

Any distribution with two or more high points

Front 21

Rectangular Distribution

Back 21

Distribution with values of all about the same frequency

Front 22

Symmetrical Distribution

Back 22

Distribution that has roughly equal distribution on either side

Front 23

Skewed Distribution

Back 23

Distribution that has one side that is long and spread out, somewhat like a tail. The side with the fewer scores (the side that looks more like a tail) is considered the direction of the skew

Front 24

Skewed to the Right

Back 24

Positively skewed, few scores at the high end

Front 25

Skewed to the Left

Back 25

Negatively Skewed, few scores at the low end

Front 26

Floor Effect

Back 26

A situation in which many scores pile up at the low end because you can't have a lower score.

Front 27

Ceiling Effect

Back 27

Scores pile up at the right, the high end. Can't go past a certain high point

Front 28

Normal Curve

Back 28

Bell-shaped curve, unimodal and symmetrical curve with average tails

Front 29

Kurtosis

Back 29

How much the shape of a distribution differs from a normal curve in terms of whether its tails are heavier (thicker) or lighter (thinner) than the normal curve