categorical variable - Answers divides the cases into groups, placing each case into exactly one of two or
more categories
quantitative variable - Answers measures or records a numerical quantity for each case. Numerical
operations like adding and averaging make sense for this.
explanatory variable - Answers the former, independent variable (x axis)
response variable - Answers the latter, dependent variable (y axis)
population - Answers includes all individuals or objects of interest
sample - Answers subset of a population
statistical inference - Answers the process of using data from a sample to gain information about the
population
sampling bias - Answers occurs when the method of selecting a sample causes the sample to differ from
the population in some relevant ay. If this exists we cannot trust generalizations from the sample of the
population
simple random sample - Answers (n units), all groups of size n in the population have the same chance
of becoming the sample. Avoids sampling bias
bias - Answers occurs when the method of collecting data causes the sample data to inaccurately reflect
the population
associated - Answers if values of one variable tend to be related to the values of the other variable
causation - Answers if changing the value of one variable influences the value of the other variable
confounding variable - Answers third variable that is associated with both the explanatory and response
variables. Plausible explanation for the two variables being associated
experiment - Answers is a study in which the researcher actively controls one or more of the explanatory
variables
observational study - Answers is a study in which the researcher does not acitvely control the value of
any variable but simple observes the values as they naturally exist
randomized experiment - Answers the value of the explanatory variable for each unit is determined
randomly, before the response variable is measured
randomized comparative experiment - Answers we randomly assign cases to different treatment groups
and then compare results on the response variables