ECE Statistics Vocabulary: Chapter 1 + 2

Covering for Unit 1 test

Statistics

A collection of

procedures and principles for

gathering data and analyzing

information in order to help

people make decisions when

faced with uncertainty.

Dotplot

A graph that organizes data as plots individually.

Five-number summary

• the lowest value

• the cut off points for ¼

• ½

• ¾ of the data

• highest value

Rate

A measure of the frequency of an event in a specified time period, often expressed as a ratio or percentage.

Margin of error

The range of values within which the true population parameter is expected to lie, often associated with survey results or statistical estimates.

Nonparticipation

Nonresponse

Self-selected

All-volunteer

Biased

A tendency of a sample or survey to favor one outcome over another, leading to inaccurate or misleading results.

Observational study

A type of research method where the researcher observes and records behavior without manipulating any variables.

Confounding variables.

Variables that influence both the independent and dependent variables, making it difficult to determine causal relationships.

Randomized experiment

A study sample is divided into one group that will receive the intervention being studied (the treatment group) and another group that will not receive the intervention (the control group).

Randomization

The process of assigning subjects in an experiment to different groups (e.g., treatment or control) by chance to minimize bias and ensure groups are comparable in all other factors except the variable being tested.

False positive

Occurs when a test or experiment incorrectly indicates a positive result when the actual situation is negative or true.

Raw data

For numbers and category labels that have been collected but have not yet been processed in any way.

Observation

An individual entity in a study.

Variable

A characteristic that may differ among individuals.