Research Methods: Chapter 15
Statistical Evaluation of Data
Statistical methods serve two principal purposes. - correct answer ✔✔1. Organize and summarize the
data to see what happened in the study and communicate the results to others.
2. Help answer the general questions that initiated the research by determining exactly what conclusions
are justified based on the results.
Two general categories of statistical techniques: - correct answer ✔✔•Descriptive statistics
ex)include organizing a set of scores into a graph or a table and calculating a single value, such as the
average score, that describes the entire set.
•Inferential statistics
descriptive statistics - correct answer ✔✔Statistical methods used to organize, summarize, and simplify
the results obtained from research studies.
inferential statistics - correct answer ✔✔Statistical methods used to determine when it is appropriate to
generalize the results from a sample to an entire population.
Statistic - correct answer ✔✔A summary value that describes a sample.
1.Describe or summarize the entire set of scores in the sample
ex)the average IQ score for a sample of 100 people provides a summary description of the intelligence
level of the entire sample.
, 2. Provide information about the corresponding summary values for the
ex) the average reading score for a sample of 25 first-grade students provides information about the
general reading level for the entire population of first graders.
Parameter - correct answer ✔✔A summary value that describes a population.
ex)if a sample of 20 students is selected from a high school with a total population of 1,148 students,
then the average age for the students in the sample would be a statistic and the average age for the
entire population would be a parameter.
Which general category of statistical methods is intended to answer questions about a population by
using sample data? - correct answer ✔✔Inferential statistics
A researcher is interested in the sleeping habits of students at the local state college. The average
number of hours spent sleeping each night for the entire set of students enrolled at the college is an
example of a ________. - correct answer ✔✔parameter
A researcher uses an anonymous survey to investigate the study habits of American college students.
Based on the set of 56 surveys that were completed and returned, the researcher finds that these
students spend an average of 4.1 hours each week working on course material outside of class. For this
study, the average of 4.1 hours is an example of a _______. - correct answer ✔✔statistic
Descriptive Statistics - correct answer ✔✔•Goal of descriptive statistics is to organize or summarize a set
of scores.
•Two techniques used to accomplish this goal:
organize and compute
How can you simply and organize a set of scores? - correct answer ✔✔1.Frequency distributions
2. Central tendency
3. Correlation
Statistical Evaluation of Data
Statistical methods serve two principal purposes. - correct answer ✔✔1. Organize and summarize the
data to see what happened in the study and communicate the results to others.
2. Help answer the general questions that initiated the research by determining exactly what conclusions
are justified based on the results.
Two general categories of statistical techniques: - correct answer ✔✔•Descriptive statistics
ex)include organizing a set of scores into a graph or a table and calculating a single value, such as the
average score, that describes the entire set.
•Inferential statistics
descriptive statistics - correct answer ✔✔Statistical methods used to organize, summarize, and simplify
the results obtained from research studies.
inferential statistics - correct answer ✔✔Statistical methods used to determine when it is appropriate to
generalize the results from a sample to an entire population.
Statistic - correct answer ✔✔A summary value that describes a sample.
1.Describe or summarize the entire set of scores in the sample
ex)the average IQ score for a sample of 100 people provides a summary description of the intelligence
level of the entire sample.
, 2. Provide information about the corresponding summary values for the
ex) the average reading score for a sample of 25 first-grade students provides information about the
general reading level for the entire population of first graders.
Parameter - correct answer ✔✔A summary value that describes a population.
ex)if a sample of 20 students is selected from a high school with a total population of 1,148 students,
then the average age for the students in the sample would be a statistic and the average age for the
entire population would be a parameter.
Which general category of statistical methods is intended to answer questions about a population by
using sample data? - correct answer ✔✔Inferential statistics
A researcher is interested in the sleeping habits of students at the local state college. The average
number of hours spent sleeping each night for the entire set of students enrolled at the college is an
example of a ________. - correct answer ✔✔parameter
A researcher uses an anonymous survey to investigate the study habits of American college students.
Based on the set of 56 surveys that were completed and returned, the researcher finds that these
students spend an average of 4.1 hours each week working on course material outside of class. For this
study, the average of 4.1 hours is an example of a _______. - correct answer ✔✔statistic
Descriptive Statistics - correct answer ✔✔•Goal of descriptive statistics is to organize or summarize a set
of scores.
•Two techniques used to accomplish this goal:
organize and compute
How can you simply and organize a set of scores? - correct answer ✔✔1.Frequency distributions
2. Central tendency
3. Correlation
