Introductory Statistics Key Terms and Review

Fill-in-the-blank practice flashcards covering introductory statistics definitions, sampling methods, levels of measurement, and experimental design concepts from the lecture text.

Average, also called mean, is a number that describes the __________ of the data.

central tendency

Blinding is not telling participants which __________ a subject is receiving.

treatment

Variables that take on values that are names or labels are called __________ variables.

categorical

In __________ sampling, the population is divided into groups, and every individual in the chosen groups is included in the sample.

cluster

A random variable whose outcomes are measured is a __________ random variable.

continuous

In a randomized experiment, the group that receives an inactive treatment is called the __________ group.

control

Convenience sampling is a __________ method of selecting a sample that selects individuals who are easily accessible.

nonrandom

The sum of the relative frequencies for all values less than or equal to a given value is the __________ relative frequency.

cumulative

Quantitative data is __________ if it is the result of counting.

discrete

Quantitative data is __________ if it is the result of measuring.

continuous

An experiment in which both the subjects and the researchers working with them are blinded is a __________ experiment.

double-blind

The independent variable in an experiment that is controlled by researchers is the __________ variable.

explanatory

Any human subject in a research study must give free consent and be aware of risks under the principle of __________.

Informed Consent

A committee tasked with oversight of research programs involving human subjects is an __________.

Institutional Review Board

A variable that affects a study even though it is neither an explanatory variable nor a response variable is a __________ variable.

lurking

Human errors such as poor study design and data entry errors that affect sampling reliability are examples of __________ error.

nonsampling

A number used to represent a population characteristic that generally cannot be determined easily is a __________.

parameter

An inactive treatment that has no real effect on the explanatory variable is called a __________.

placebo

The dependent variable measured for change at the end of an experiment is the __________ variable.

response

Natural variation that results from selecting a sample to represent a larger population is called __________ error.

sampling

Sampling error decreases as the sample size __________.

increases

In sampling __________ replacement, a member of the population is returned to the population after selection.

with

In sampling __________ replacement, a member of the population may be chosen for inclusion in a sample only once.

without

A numerical characteristic of a sample that estimates a population parameter is a __________.

statistic

In __________ sampling, the population is divided into strata and a proportionate number of individuals are selected from each stratum.

stratified

In systematic sampling, $k$ is calculated as the number of individuals in the population divided by the __________.

number of individuals needed in the sample

Different values or components of the explanatory variable applied in an experiment are called __________.

treatments

When reporting a final statistical answer, round off your answer to __________ more decimal place(s) than was present in the original data.

one

Data at the __________ scale level cannot be ordered nor used in calculations.

nominal

Data at the __________ scale level can be ordered, but differences between data points cannot be measured.

ordinal

Data at the __________ scale level has definite ordering and measurable differences, but no true starting point or ratio.

interval

Data at the __________ scale level has a starting point, can be ordered, and allows meaningful ratios to be calculated.

ratio