W7 Levels of measurement & descriptive statistics

Flashcards on Levels of Measurement & Descriptive Statistics, covering types of data, measures of central tendency and spread, and data visualization.

Descriptive Statistics

Summarizes and describes a given dataset using central tendency and spread, with concrete and known values.

Inferential Statistics

Uses probability to infer conclusions about a larger population from a smaller sample of data, dealing with abstract/estimated/inferred values.

Nominal Data

categorical data - providing the lowest level of information by splitting data into categories without numerical relationships.

Ordinal Data

Ranked positions in a group where numbers do not represent quantities or counts, and the interval between positions is unknown.

Interval Data

Data using equal units where the distance of scale points is the same across the whole scale, allowing calculation of summary statistics.

Ratio Data

Interval data with a true zero, allowing for use in ratios. Cannot have negative values.

Central Tendency

Describes the most typical or representative score in a dataset.

Dispersion

Describes how much the values vary around the central value in a dataset.

Mean

The arithmetic average, calculated by summing the scores and dividing by the number of scores.

Median

The middle value in a dataset, dividing the scores into equal halves.

Mode

The score that occurs most frequently in a dataset; the crudest measure of central tendency.

Range

The difference between the highest and lowest score in a dataset, sensitive to outliers.

Interquartile Range (IQR)

The data between the 25th and 75th percentiles, representing the middle half of the data.

Variance

The average squared deviation from the mean, using information from all scores in a dataset.

Standard Deviation

The square root of the variance, showing the average deviation from the mean.