INTRO TO PSYCHSTAT

STATISTICS

a branch of mathematics that deals with the organization, summarization, analysis, and interpretation of group of numbers

• it proves hypothesis

DESCRIBE EXPLAIN PREDICT CONTROL

the four primary goals of psychology.

STATISTICS

a branch of mathematics that deals with the organization, summarization, analysis, and interpretation of group of numbers.

POPULATION

the set of all the individuals of interest in a particular study

PARAMETER

a value—usually a numerical value—that describes a population

SAMPLE

a set of individual selected from a population, usually intended to represent the population in a research study

STATISTIC

a value—usually a numerical value—that describes a sample

VARIABLE

a characteristic or condition that changes or has different values for different individuals

VALUES

possible number or category that a score can have

eg. 1-5 on a pain assessment scale, male or female

SCORE

also known as raw score, is a particular person's value on a variable

DATA

it is the measurement or observation

DATASET

a collection of measurements or observation

DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

are statistical procedures used to summarize, organize, and simplify data

INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

consists of techniques that allow us to study samples and then make generalizations about the populations from which they were selected

SAMPLING ERROR

the naturally occurring discrepancy, or error, that exist between a sample statistic and the corresponding population parameter

DISCRETE VARIABLE

consists of separate, indivisible categories

CONTINUOUS VARIABLE

there are an infinite number of possible values that fall between any two observed values

DICHOTOMOUS VARIABLE

one that takes on one of only two possible values when observed or measured

LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT

also called a scales of measurement, is a classification that describes the nature of information within the values assigned to variables

NOMINAL

variable with values that are categories, also known as categorical variables

ORDINAL

numeric variable in which values are ranks, also known as rank order variable

INTERVAL

variable that consists equal-interval between numbers and contain no absolute zero point

RATIO

an interval scale with the additional feature of an absolute zero point