HSCI 190 EXAM REVIEW - ALL MODULES 100% DETAILED
VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS 2026
What is statistics? -ANSWER-the study of variation
What are descriptive statistics? What are some examples of descriptive statistics? -ANSWER-
Summarizing and describing data so that patterns become apparent
visualizations, measures of central tendency, variability
What are inferential statistics? What are some examples of inferential statistics? -ANSWER-
analyzing data to make general conclusions about the way the world works
SEM, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, t-tests, ANOVAs, correlations, regressions,
non-parametric tests
What is machine learning? -ANSWER-a technique derived from statistics that tries to learn
patterns from raw data in order to make predictions
What are the three components that make up evidence-based medicine? -ANSWER-clinical
expertise (what has been learned in the profession?), best research evidence (what does
literature say?), and patient values (what does the patient want?)
What is evidence-based medicine? -ANSWER-The practice of using research-based evidence,
clinical expertise, and info about the patient's values and preferences to make clinical
decisions on patient care
Describe the study conducted by Wakefield et al. in 1998. What was it about? What was the
outcome? What effect did it have on people? -ANSWER-The study concluded that there was
an association between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorder (even though there
were many things wrong with the research methods)
,the paper became popular and it influenced people's decision to vaccinate their children
in 2010, it got removed from the journal it was published in because many researchers
disproved the conclusions
still, today, people think that vaccines can lead to autism spectrum disorder because of this
paper
How did statisticians prove Dr. Shipman was guilty? -ANSWER-They compared Dr. Shipman's
patients' time of death to other physicians' patients' time of death - showed that most of Dr.
Shipman's patients died at the same time (afternoon)
What is the PPDAC cycle? -ANSWER-the problem, plan, data, analysis, conclusions cycle
we use it to discuss statistical concepts
What is categorical data? -ANSWER-Numbers are used to represent categories of info
qualitative in nature
What is nominal data? Provide an example -ANSWER-Info is grouped into unordered
categories
only the label has value - the number assigned to each category is pointless
i.e. eye colour
What is ordinal data? -ANSWER-Info is grouped into ordered categories
, the number assigned to each category has meaning
the position of the data matters
i.e. customer satisfaction survey (1-5)
What is scale data? -ANSWER-A numerical measurement in which the difference between
values has meaning
quantitative in nature
What is interval data? -ANSWER-Each data point is an equal distance from each other
no true zero
What is ratio data? -ANSWER-A measurement where the numbers are not restricted to
certain values
there is a true zero
absolute frequency vs. relative frequency -ANSWER-absolute = raw numbers, relative =
percentages
What does the index (i) tell you? -ANSWER-The lower limit of the summation
What is the mean? -ANSWER-The sum of all values divided by the total number of
observations, aka the average
VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS 2026
What is statistics? -ANSWER-the study of variation
What are descriptive statistics? What are some examples of descriptive statistics? -ANSWER-
Summarizing and describing data so that patterns become apparent
visualizations, measures of central tendency, variability
What are inferential statistics? What are some examples of inferential statistics? -ANSWER-
analyzing data to make general conclusions about the way the world works
SEM, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, t-tests, ANOVAs, correlations, regressions,
non-parametric tests
What is machine learning? -ANSWER-a technique derived from statistics that tries to learn
patterns from raw data in order to make predictions
What are the three components that make up evidence-based medicine? -ANSWER-clinical
expertise (what has been learned in the profession?), best research evidence (what does
literature say?), and patient values (what does the patient want?)
What is evidence-based medicine? -ANSWER-The practice of using research-based evidence,
clinical expertise, and info about the patient's values and preferences to make clinical
decisions on patient care
Describe the study conducted by Wakefield et al. in 1998. What was it about? What was the
outcome? What effect did it have on people? -ANSWER-The study concluded that there was
an association between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorder (even though there
were many things wrong with the research methods)
,the paper became popular and it influenced people's decision to vaccinate their children
in 2010, it got removed from the journal it was published in because many researchers
disproved the conclusions
still, today, people think that vaccines can lead to autism spectrum disorder because of this
paper
How did statisticians prove Dr. Shipman was guilty? -ANSWER-They compared Dr. Shipman's
patients' time of death to other physicians' patients' time of death - showed that most of Dr.
Shipman's patients died at the same time (afternoon)
What is the PPDAC cycle? -ANSWER-the problem, plan, data, analysis, conclusions cycle
we use it to discuss statistical concepts
What is categorical data? -ANSWER-Numbers are used to represent categories of info
qualitative in nature
What is nominal data? Provide an example -ANSWER-Info is grouped into unordered
categories
only the label has value - the number assigned to each category is pointless
i.e. eye colour
What is ordinal data? -ANSWER-Info is grouped into ordered categories
, the number assigned to each category has meaning
the position of the data matters
i.e. customer satisfaction survey (1-5)
What is scale data? -ANSWER-A numerical measurement in which the difference between
values has meaning
quantitative in nature
What is interval data? -ANSWER-Each data point is an equal distance from each other
no true zero
What is ratio data? -ANSWER-A measurement where the numbers are not restricted to
certain values
there is a true zero
absolute frequency vs. relative frequency -ANSWER-absolute = raw numbers, relative =
percentages
What does the index (i) tell you? -ANSWER-The lower limit of the summation
What is the mean? -ANSWER-The sum of all values divided by the total number of
observations, aka the average
