CHAPTER 8: ANALYZING QUANTITATIVE DATA:
EXPLORING AND ORGANIZING A DATA SET:
-Statistics;
-A group of computational procedures that enable us to find patterns and meanings in
numerical data
-Whatever may have been observed may have no relevance to the project, but because it
represents dynamics within the data it’s important to observe
-Fundamental principle in data exploration:
-How the researcher prepares the data for inspection or interpretation will affect the
meaning that those data reveal
-Therefore, every researcher should be able to provide a clear, logical rationale for the
procedure used to arrange and organize the data
USING COMPUTER SPREADSHEETS TO ORGANIZE AND ANALYZE DATA:
Electronic spreadsheet: A software program that enables a researcher to enter and then
manipulate data in a two-dimensional table.
-Best known spreadsheet software = Microsoft’s Excel.
-Spreadsheets Allows Researchers To:
o Sorting:
-Once data has been organized into rows and columns, I can be reorganized
o Recoding:
-Spreadsheets allow you to make a new column that reflects a transformation of data in an
existing column
o Formulas:
-Capability to calculate many complex mathematical and statistical formulas, one can specify
formulas to organize and analyze one or more groups of data
o Graphing:
-After appropriate data has been selected the software will form a graph from that data and
graph used is selected from available options
o What if’s:
-Can engage in trial and error explorations, comparison between data can be made
, CHOOSING APPROPRIATE STATISTICS:
-Looking at data in one way yields an incomplete view of those data and their underlying
patterns and meanings.
-For this reason, there are different statistical techniques and procedures and can serve a
different purpose to answer questions of data sets.
FUNCTIONS OF STATISTICS:
-There are 2 major functions.
-Descriptive statistics describe what the data look like—where their centre or midpoint is, how
broadly they are spread, how closely two or more variables within the data are intercorrelated,
and the like.
-inferential statistics allow us to draw inferences about large populations by collecting data on
relatively small samples.
-Inferential statistics involve using one or more small samples and then estimating the
characteristics of the population from which each sample has been drawn.
- Inferential statistics provide a way of helping us make reasonable guesses about a
large, unknown population by examining a small sample that is known.
-They also allow us to test hypotheses regarding what might be true for that large
population.
STATISTICS AS ESTIMATES OF POPULATION PARAMETERS:
-Parameter:
-Is a characteristic or quality of a population that, in concept is a constant, however the
value variable is
-Mean or standard deviation
-Any calculation we perform from the sample rather than the population is a statistic:
-Parameter is a particular characteristic of the entire population called the universe –
sample a small group of the population
EXPLORING AND ORGANIZING A DATA SET:
-Statistics;
-A group of computational procedures that enable us to find patterns and meanings in
numerical data
-Whatever may have been observed may have no relevance to the project, but because it
represents dynamics within the data it’s important to observe
-Fundamental principle in data exploration:
-How the researcher prepares the data for inspection or interpretation will affect the
meaning that those data reveal
-Therefore, every researcher should be able to provide a clear, logical rationale for the
procedure used to arrange and organize the data
USING COMPUTER SPREADSHEETS TO ORGANIZE AND ANALYZE DATA:
Electronic spreadsheet: A software program that enables a researcher to enter and then
manipulate data in a two-dimensional table.
-Best known spreadsheet software = Microsoft’s Excel.
-Spreadsheets Allows Researchers To:
o Sorting:
-Once data has been organized into rows and columns, I can be reorganized
o Recoding:
-Spreadsheets allow you to make a new column that reflects a transformation of data in an
existing column
o Formulas:
-Capability to calculate many complex mathematical and statistical formulas, one can specify
formulas to organize and analyze one or more groups of data
o Graphing:
-After appropriate data has been selected the software will form a graph from that data and
graph used is selected from available options
o What if’s:
-Can engage in trial and error explorations, comparison between data can be made
, CHOOSING APPROPRIATE STATISTICS:
-Looking at data in one way yields an incomplete view of those data and their underlying
patterns and meanings.
-For this reason, there are different statistical techniques and procedures and can serve a
different purpose to answer questions of data sets.
FUNCTIONS OF STATISTICS:
-There are 2 major functions.
-Descriptive statistics describe what the data look like—where their centre or midpoint is, how
broadly they are spread, how closely two or more variables within the data are intercorrelated,
and the like.
-inferential statistics allow us to draw inferences about large populations by collecting data on
relatively small samples.
-Inferential statistics involve using one or more small samples and then estimating the
characteristics of the population from which each sample has been drawn.
- Inferential statistics provide a way of helping us make reasonable guesses about a
large, unknown population by examining a small sample that is known.
-They also allow us to test hypotheses regarding what might be true for that large
population.
STATISTICS AS ESTIMATES OF POPULATION PARAMETERS:
-Parameter:
-Is a characteristic or quality of a population that, in concept is a constant, however the
value variable is
-Mean or standard deviation
-Any calculation we perform from the sample rather than the population is a statistic:
-Parameter is a particular characteristic of the entire population called the universe –
sample a small group of the population
