Statistics: Reliability, Validity, and Data Analysis

This set of flashcards covers key concepts of reliability, validity, and various statistical methods including descriptive statistics, correlations, and T-tests as presented in the lecture notes.

What does reliability measure in statistics?

Reliability measures consistency, asking if you would get the same result again using the same method on the same object.

What is internal consistency in the context of reliability?

Internal consistency is measured by comparing results from the same object at the same time, often using Split-Half methods.

What is Cronbach’s Alpha, and what do its values indicate?

Cronbach’s Alpha measures internal consistency; values of 0.70-0.80 are respectable, while 0.80-0.90 are considered good.

Define validity in statistical measurements.

Validity assesses whether you are truly measuring the concept you intend to measure, such as ensuring clocks measure time, not temperature.

What is content validity?

Content validity examines if the measure includes the full range of meanings for a concept.

What is a key feature of descriptive statistics?

Descriptive statistics summarize and organize data to help understand the characteristics of that data.

List the three key components of descriptive statistics.

The three key components are Distribution, Central Tendency, and Dispersion.

What does central tendency represent?

Central tendency represents a typical or middle value of a dataset, often represented by mean, median, or mode.

How is the mean affected by outliers?

The mean is sensitive to extreme outliers, which can skew its value.

What method is used to compare the relationship between two categorical variables?

Crosstabulation (Cross-tab) is used to summarize and compare relationships between two categorical variables.

What does a correlation measure?

Correlation measures the relationship and direction between two continuous variables.

What does a strong positive correlation indicate about the variables?

A strong positive correlation indicates that as one variable increases, the other variable also increases.

What does a T-Test compare?

A T-Test compares the means of two groups on one continuous dependent variable.

What type of independent variable is required for a T-Test?

The independent variable (IV) must be categorical and have exactly two groups.

What is a significant p-value in relation to group means?

A significant p-value (p < 0.05) indicates that there is a significant difference between the group means.

How do you interpret a Pearson Correlation coefficient of 0.65?

A Pearson Correlation coefficient of 0.65 indicates a strong, significant positive relationship between the variables.

What do you look for in the SPSS Output for group statistics?

In the SPSS Output for group statistics, look for the Mean of each group to identify which group is higher.