Study Designs and Statistical Analysis

These flashcards cover key concepts and terminology related to study designs, statistical analysis, and hypothesis testing for exam preparation.

Surveys

Used to measure attitudes, behaviors, or self-reported data across a sample.

Experiments

Designed to determine causal relationships between variables.

Content Analyses

Systematic analysis of text, media, or communication content.

Population

The entire group you're interested in.

Census

Data collected from every member of the population.

Sample

A subset of the population.

Sampling Frame

A list from which the sample is drawn.

Non-probability Sampling

Sampling method that is not random, easier but less generalizable.

Probability Sampling

Random sampling method that is more representative of the population.

Sampling Error

Variation that affects the representativeness of a sample by chance.

Margin of Sampling Error (MOSE)

Range in which the true population value likely falls.

Measures of Central Tendency

Statistics that describe the center of a data set (mean, median, mode).

Measures of Variability

Statistics that describe the spread or dispersion of data.

Null Hypothesis (H₀)

Assumes no effect or relationship exists between variables.

Alternative Hypothesis (H₁)

Suggests that there is an effect or relationship between variables.

Type I Error

A false positive where the null hypothesis is incorrectly rejected.

Type II Error

A false negative where a false null hypothesis is not rejected.

Statistical Significance

The likelihood that a result is not due to random chance, usually evaluated by p-values.

Pearson Correlation

Measures the direction and strength of a linear relationship between two interval or ratio variables.

Independent Samples t-test

Compares means between two independent groups based on one nominal IV and one interval/ratio DV.