PSYCHSTATS: 1 - INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS
possible.
Statistics - is a branch of mathematics which deals with
the systematic collection, tabulation, presentation,
analysis, and interpretation of quantitative data or
facts.
Methods of Knowing
1. Authority
2. Rationalism
3. Intuition
4. Scientific method
Methods of Authority
 When using the method of authority, something is
considered true because of tradition or because
some person of distinction says it is true.
 Method of Faith - is a variant of the method of
authority in which people have unquestioning trust
in the authority figure and, therefore, accept
information from the authority without doubt or
challenge.
Method of Rationalism
 The method of rationalism uses reasoning alone to
arrive at knowledge. It assumes that if the premises
are sound and the reasoning is carried out correctly
according to the rules of logic, then the conclusions
will yield truth.
 Always truth or tautology.
 Example:
- All statistics professors are beautiful people.
- Ms. Arlene is a statistics professor. Therefore,
Ms. Arlene is a beautiful person.
Method of Intuition
 With intuition, a person relies on hunches and
“instinct” to answer questions.
 Example:
- At a casino, if someone puts his money on the
number 23 at a roulette table because he “feels” it
is going to come up, then that person would be
using the method of intuition to answer the
question of which number to play.
Scientific Method
 An approach to acquiring knowledge that involves
formulating specific questions and then
systematically finding answers.
 It is a method of acquiring knowledge—scientists
seek answers to the questions they devise.
 The scientific method is a carefully developed
system for asking and answering questions so
that the answers we discover are as accurate as
 Steps of the Scientific Method
- Step 1: Observe Behavior or Other Phenomena
o The initial observations could be the result
of your own personal experience (method
of empiricism), and might involve watching
the behavior of other people or monitoring
your own behavior.
- Step 2: Form a Tentative Answer or
Explanation (a Hypothesis)
o Usually begins by identifying other factors,
or variables, that are associated with your
observation.
- Step 3: Use Your Hypothesis to Generate a
Testable Prediction
o Involves taking the hypothesis and applying
it to a specific, observable, real- world
situation.
- Step 4: Evaluate the Prediction by Making
Systematic, Planned Observations
o The actual research or data collection phase
of the scientific method.
- Step 5: Use the Observations to
Support, Refute, or Refine the
Original Hypothesis
o The final step of the scientific method is to
compare the actual observations with the
predictions that were made from the
hypothesis. To what extent do the
observations agree with the predictions?
Descriptive & Inferential Statistics
Descriptive Statistics - is concerned with techniques
that are used to describe or characterize the obtained
data.
Inferential statistics – involves techniques that use the
obtained sample data to infer to populations.
Definition: Technical Problems
Population - is the complete set of individuals, objects,
or scores that the investigator is interested in studying.
In an actual experiment, the population is the larger
group of individuals from which the subjects run in the
experiment have been taken.
Sample - is a subset of the population. In an
experiment, for economical reasons, the investigator
usually collects data on a smaller group of subjects than
the entire population. This smaller group is called the variable or of other subject characteristics, such as
sample. age, gender, number of subjects, and so on.
 Types of Data:
Population and Sample - Nominal data used to label variables.
- Discrete data specific countable values.
Variable - is any property or characteristic of some - Ordinal data ordered categories.
event, object, or person that may have different values - Continuous data measurement scale between two
at different times depending on the conditions. realistic points.
 Independent variable - in an experiment is the
variable that is systematically manipulated by the Primary Data
investigator.  Data that come from original source.
 Dependent variable - in an experiment is the  Examples:
variable that the investigator measures to Interview
determine the effect of the independent variable. Survey
Mail-in Questionnaire
Independent & Dependent Variable Google forms
Experimentation
Continuous Variables
 It can assume any of an infinite number of values Secondary Data
and can be associated with points on a continuous  Data that come from previously recorded data.
line interval.  Examples:
 Examples: Information in research
Height, weight, volume Financial statements
Business periodicals
Discrete Variables Government Reports
 Some measures of behavior of subjects and School records
expected to be influenced by the independent
variable. Level of Measurements
 Examples:
Gender, Courses, Olympic games Scale Legitimate Statistics
Nominal - Indicates a difference.
Statistic Ordinal - Indicates a difference.
 A statistic is a number calculated on sample - Indicates a direction of the difference
data that quantifies a characteristic of the (more or less than).
sample. Thus, the average value of a sample Interval - Indicates a difference.
set of scores would be called a statistic. - Indicates a direction of the
 Numerical index describing a characteristic of difference.
a sample. - Indicates the amount of difference (in
equal intervals).
Parameter Ratio - Indicates a difference.
 A parameter is a number calculated on population - Indicates a direction of the
data that quantifies a characteristic of the difference.
population. - Indicates the amount of difference.
 Numerical index describing a characteristic of a - Indicates an absolute zero.
population.

Data Nominal Level

 The measurements that are made on the subjects  It is the lowest level of measurement and its most
of an experiment are called data. Usually data often used with variables that are qualitative in
consist of the measurements of the dependent nature rather than quantitative.
 It is one that has categories for the units.
 Example:
Qualitative Variable Categories
Gender Male, Female
Automobile Ownership Yes, No
Type of Life Insurance Term, Endowment,
Owned Straight-Life, Others, None.

Ordinal scale
 Is one in which the numbers of scale represent rank
order things, rather than raw score magnitudes.
 Example:
Qualitative Variable Categories
Student class Freshman, Sophomore,
designation Junior, Senior
Product satisfaction Unsatisfied, Neutral,
Satisfied, Very Satisfied
Movie classification G, PG, PG-13, R-18, X
Faculty Rank Professor, Associate
Prof., Assistant Prof,
Instructor
Hotel Ratings
Student Grades 1.0, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75,
2.00…

Interval Scale
 Is one in which the units represent raw score
magnitudes, there are equal intervals between
adjacent units on the scale, and there is no absolute
zero point.
 Example:
Qualitative Variable
Temperature (in degree oC or oF)
Calendar Time (Gregorian, Hebrew, or Islamic)

Ratio Scale
 Is one in which the units represent raw score
magnitudes, there are equal intervals between
adjacent units on the scale, and there is an absolute
zero point.
 Example:
Qualitative Variable
Weight ( in pounds or kilograms)
Age ( in years or days)
Salary ( in Philippine Peso)

PSYCHSTATS: 2 – STATISTICS AND THE REAL WORLD

Methods Used In Data Gathering & Collecting Data

1. Direct or Interview Method  Frequency and Percentage Distribution of the
2. Indirect or Questionnaire Method Nursing Students According to Gender.
3. Registration Method Gender Frequency Percentage
4. Observation Method Male 1, 375 27.5
5. Experimental Method Female 3, 625 72.5
Total 5000 100
Direct or Interview Method
 It is a person-to-person encounter between the Graphical Form
source of information, the interviewee, and the one  The data is presented in visual form.
who gathers information; the interviewer
 It can be done personal, through phone or internet
access.

Indirect or Questionnaire Method

 It is the technique in which a questionnaire is used
to elicit the information or data needed.

Registration Method
 It obtains data from the records of government
agency authorized by law to keep such data or
information and made these available to
researchers. Sampling Technniques
1. Simple Random Sampling
Observation Method 2. Systematic Random Sampling
 It is a technique in which data particularly those 3. Stratified Random Sampling
pertaining to the behaviours of individuals or group 4. Cluster Sampling
of individuals during the given situation are best 5. Multiple Stage Sampling
obtained through observations. 6. Convenience Sampling
7. Purposive Sampling
Experimental Method 8. Quota Sampling
 It is a system used to gather data from the results of 9. Snowball Sampling
performed series of experiments on some
controlled and experimental variables. This is Simple Random Sampling
commonly used in scientific inquiries.  A simple random sample is chosen in such a way
that every set of individuals has an equal chance to
Different Ways to Present Data be in the selected sample.

Textual Form
 The data is presented in paragraph form.
 Example:
 Table 1 presents the frequency andpercentage
distribution of the respondentsaccording to gender.
The table shows thatmajority of the respondents Systematic Random Sampling
are female with3, 625 or 72.5%, while 1,375 or  Systematic sampling is a probability sampling
27.5% aremale. method in which a random sample, with a fixed
 Most of the Nursing students are female, itonly periodic interval, is selected from a larger
shows that Nursing is a course morefavorable for population. The fixed periodic interval, called the
female (Malabanan, 2020). sampling interval, is calculated by dividing the
population size by the desired sample size.
Tabular Form
 The data is presented in rows and columns.
 Table 1

Stratified Random Sampling
 Stratified random sampling is a method of sampling
that involves the division of a population into
smaller sub-groups known as strata.
Cluster Sampling
 Cluster sampling divides the population into groups,
then takes a random sample from each cluster.
 This method is used when there are different
subsets of groups present in a larger population.
Multi Stage Sampling
 The researcher chooses the samples randomly at
each stage. Here, the researcher does not create
clusters, but he/she narrows down the sample by
applying random sampling.
Purposive Sampling
 Purposive sampling is a non-propability sampling
method and it occurs when “elements selected for
the sample are chosen bu the judgment of the
researcher.
Convenience Sampling
 .
Quota Sampling
 Quota sampling involves dividing the respondents
into subgroups. First, we identify the subgroups and
their proportions in the population. Next, we use
convenience sampling to select the required
number of subjects from each subgroup.
Snowball Sampling
 Snowball sampling is a method used to collect data
when it is difficult to locate respondents. This type
of sampling technique relies on referrals from initial
respondents to generate additional respondents.
Situational Analysis
Mode of Presentation & Retention
 An educator conducts an experiment to determine
whether the mode of presentation affects how well
prose material is remembered. For this experiment,
the educator uses several prose passages that are
presented visually or auditorily.
 Fifty students are selected from the undergraduates
attending the university at which the educator
works. The students are divided into two groups of
25 students per group. The first group receives a
visual presentation of the prose passages, and the
second group hears the passages through an
auditory presentation.
 At the end of their respective presentations, the
subjects are asked to write down as much of the
material as they can remember. The average
number of words remembered by each group is
 calculated, and the two group averages are
compared to see whether the mode of presentation
had an effect.
 For the experiment described on the slides above,
specify the following:
a) The independent variable - the mode of
presentation of the prose passages (i.e.,
auditory or visual).
b) The dependent variable(s) - the number of
words remembered.
c) The sample - the 50 students who participated
in the experiment.
d) The population - the larger group of individuals
from which the sample was taken, namely, the
undergraduates attending the university.
e) The data - the number of words recalled by
each student in the sample.
f) The statistic(s) - the average number of words
recalled by each group is a statistic because it
quantifies a characteristic of the sample scores.
g) The parameter(s) - since there was no
measurement made of any population
characteristic, there was no parameter
calculated in this experiment.