Introduction to Statistics Review

These flashcards cover key concepts from the Introduction to Statistics lecture notes, including definitions, differences between populations and samples, the research process, types of variables, and scales of measurement.

What is statistics?

Statistics is a branch of mathematics used to collect, analyze, interpret, and present data.

What differentiates populations from samples in statistics?

Populations include all individuals of interest in a study, while samples are subsets selected to represent the population.

What is the primary goal of an experimental study?

The goal is to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between variables.

What does the independent variable represent in research?

The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated by the researcher.

What is the purpose of a control group in an experiment?

A control group provides a baseline for comparison against the experimental group.

What is a sampling error?

Sampling error is the natural discrepancies between a sample statistic and the population parameter.

What are the two major branches of statistics?

Descriptive statistics, which summarize and organize data, and inferential statistics, which generalize findings from samples to populations.

What characterizes a discrete variable?

A discrete variable consists of separate, indivisible categories and can only take certain values.

What is an operational definition in statistics?

An operational definition defines a construct in observable and measurable terms.

What is the significance of random assignment in experiments?

Random assignment ensures that each participant has an equal chance of being placed in any group, minimizing bias.

What measurement scale is characterized by having a true zero point?

The ratio scale has all properties of the interval scale along with a true zero point.

How does an ordinal scale differ from a nominal scale?

An ordinal scale orders attributes but does not quantify the differences; a nominal scale categorizes without order.

What is the relationship between a sample and a population in statistics?

A sample is a subset of the population, and results from the sample are generalized back to the population.