Reviewer Psych Stats Research Terms

Descriptive- Respondents
Statistics- is the science of collecting, organizing, presenting, Quantitative
analyzing, and interpreting quantitative or numerical data.
Experimental- Participants

Qualitative- Informants
General Purpose of Statistics
Population and Sample
Statistics help the researcher to answer the questions
Population (Parameter)- is the entire set of the individuals of
Statistics are used to organize and summarize the information so interest for a particular research question
that the researcher can see what happened in the research study
Sample (Statistics)- is a set of individuals selected from a
population, usually intended to represent the population in a
research study.
Why do we need Stats in Psychology?
Variables and Data
Statistics help the researcher to answer the general questions that
initiated the research by determining exactly what conclusions are A data/data set is a collection of measurements or observations; the
justified based on the results that were obtained. complete set of scores

A datum (singular) is a single measurement or observation and is

commonly called a score or raw score
C- Collecting

O- Organization Descriptive

P- Presentation

A- Analysis

I- Interpretation Inferential

G- Generalization of Data
A variable is a characteristic or condition that can change or take on
different values.
• A variable that is different from one individual to another (height,
gender, personality)
• A variable that affects environmental conditions (size of the
room, temperature, time of day)
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
Descriptive- are methods for organizing and summarizing data.For
example, tables or graphs are used to organize data
 Summarize data
 Organize data
 Simplify data
Inferential- are methods for using sample data to make general
conclusions (inferences) about populations.
 Study samples to make generalizations about the
population
 Interpret experimental data
Sampling Error- The discrepancy between a sample statistic and its
population parameter is called sampling error.
Defining and measuring sampling error is a large part of inferential
statistics.
Research Methods
Science - is the study of phenomena, such as behavior, through
strict observation, evaluation, interpretation, and theoretical
explanation.
Research method - or scientific method is a set of systematic
techniques used to acquire, modify, and integrate knowledge
concerning observable and measurable phenomena.
Relationships between variables
– Each variable considered separately
– Relationships among variables
Example:
Is there a relationship between the amount of violence that children
see on television and the amount of aggressive behavior they
display?
Correlational method
– Two variables for each subject in one group
– Purpose is to determine whether there is a relationship between
the variables
Example: Research has demonstrated a relationship between sleep
habits, especially wake-up time, and academic performance for
college students. The researchers used a survey to measure wake-
up time and school records to measure academic performance of
each student.
Limitations of Correlational method – the results from a
correlational study can demonstrate the existence for the
relationship between two variables, but they do not provide an
explanation for the relationship.
Comparing Groups of Scores:
The second method for examining the relationship between two
variables involves the comparison of two or more groups of scores
Example:
One group of elementary school children is shown a 30-minute
action/adventure television program involving numerous instances
of violence, and a second group is shown a 30-minute comedy that
includes no violence. Both groups are then observed on the
playground and a researcher records the number of aggressive acts
committed by each child.
Experimental Method
To demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between two
variables
Manipulation - the researcher manipulates one variable by changing
its value from one level to another. A second variable is observed
(measured) to determine whether the manipulation changes to
occur
Control- the researcher must exercise control over the research
situation to ensure that other, extraneous variables do not influence
the relationship being examined.
Participant Variables – these are characteristics such as age, gender,
and intelligence that vary from one individual to another
Environmental Variables – these are characteristics of the
environment such as lighting, time of day, and weather conditions.
Example:
In the experiment, a group of college students was told that they
were participating in a manual dexterity study. The researchers then
created two treatment conditions by manipulating the material that
each participant would be handling. Half of the students were given
a stack of money to count and the other half got stack of blank
pieces of paper. After the counting task, the participants were asked
to dip their hands into bowls of painfully hot water (122 F) and rate
how uncomfortable it was. Participants who had counted money
rated the pain significantly lower than those who had counted
paper.
Participant: In the money-counting experiment, for example,
suppose that the participants in the money condition were primarily
females and those in the paper condition are primarily males.
Environmental: Using the money-counting experiment, suppose
that the individuals in the money condition are all tested in the
morning and the individuals in the paper condition were all tested in
the evening.
INDEPENDENT- is the variable manipulated by the researcher
DEPENDENT-is the one observed to assess the effect of treatment
EXAMPLE: A scientist studies the impact of withholding affection on
rats. The independent variable is the amount of affection. The
dependent variable is the reaction of the rats.
Control condition- Individuals do not receive the experimental Nominal Scale- It simply represents the qualitative or categorical
treatment. – They either receive no treatment or they receive a differences of the variables measured. It is just for labelling
neutral, placebo treatment. purposes, nothing more.

Experimental condition- Individuals do receive the experimental Nominal data

treatment
Data that is classified into categories and cannot be arranged in any
particular order

Non-experimental Methods Ordinal Scale- The categories have different names and are
organized sequentially. As the name implies, it give order or rank to
Nonequivalent Groups
subjects or items.
– Researcher compares groups
EXAMPLE:
– Researcher cannot control who goes into which group
Socioeconomic status – upper, middle and lower
• Pre-test / Post-test – Individuals measured at two points in time
Contest winners – 1st place, 2nd place, etc.
– Researcher cannot control influence of the passage of time
T-shirt sizes – small, medium, large, extra large
• Independent variable is quasi-independent it is not manipulated
Ordinal data- data arranged in some order, but the differences
but used in creating groups.
between data values cannot be determined or are meaningless.
Scales of Measurement
Interval Scale- It has no absolute zero value, meaning it only uses
Measurement – application of rules for assigning numbers to zero as a reference point but it does not indicate the absence of the
objects. The rules are the specific procedures to transform qualities variable being measured.
of attributes into numbers.
EXAMPLE:
Types of scales/levels:
IQ (There is not such thing as zero IQ.)
● Nominal
Test scores (A zero score does not mean zero knowledge or the
● Ordinal student did not learn anything.)

● Interval ºC and ºF scales (They have zero value but it does not mean that
there is no temperature at all.)
● Ratio
Interval Data

– Distances between consecutive integers are equal

– Relative magnitude of numbers is meaningful

– Differences between numbers are comparable

– Location of origin, zero, is arbitrary

Ratio Scale- The existence of an absolute zero point means that we

can measure the absolute amount of the variable.

EXAMPLES:

Examples:

Weight

Kelvin temperature scale (Has an absolute zero value)

Income

Age

Ratio Scale

Highest level of measurement

– Relative magnitude of numbers is meaningful

– Differences between numbers are comparable

– Location of origin, zero, is absolute (natural)