Psychological

Statistics
Introduction to Statistics

Dhon Jheriko B. Enrico

Instructor, CAS
OVERVIEW:
● Statistics, Science, and Observations
● Populations and Samples
● Data Structures, Research Methods, and Statistics
● Variables and Measurement
● Statistical Notation
STATISTICS, SCIENCE, AND
OBSERVATIONS
STATISTICS, SCIENCE, AND OBSERVATIONS
Statistics – a set of mathematical procedures for organizing,
summarizing, and interpreting information.

Statistics are used to organize and summarize the information

so that the researcher can see what happened in the
research study and can communicate the results to others.

Statistics help the researcher answer the questions that

initiated the research by determining exactly what general
conclusions are justified based on the results that were
obtained.
POPULATIONS AND
OBSERVATIONS
 POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES
Population – the set of all the individuals of interest in a particular study.

For example, a researcher who’s interested in the difference in the number of times men and
women spent inside the bathroom.

What’s the issue in the given example?

A researcher who’s interested in the difference in the number of times men and women spent
inside the bathroom.

Answer: The researcher didn’t specifically define the population.

 POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES
Sample – a set of individuals selected from a
population, usually intended to represent the
population in a research study.

⮚It is a smaller, more manageable group from the

population.
⮚It is intended to be representative of its
population.
 POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES
A researcher who’s interested in the difference in
the number of time men and women spent
inside the bathroom.

Research about the difference in the number of

time men and women students of LSPU’s
College of Arts and Sciences spend in the
bathroom.
 POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES
Parameter – a value, usually a Statistic – a value, usually a
numerical value, that describes numerical value, that describes
a population. a sample.

Example: Example:
1. Population Mean (μ) 1. Sample Mean (x̄)
2. Population Size (N) 2. Sample Size (n)
 POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES
Descriptive Statistics
● Statistical procedures used to summarize, organize, and simplify data.
● Take raw scores and organize or summarize them in a form that is more
manageable.
● Example: Central Tendency, Measures of Variability, Frequency Distributions
 POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES
Inferential Statistics
• It includes techniques that allow us to study samples and then make a
generalization about the populations from which they were selected.
• Researchers use simply statistics as the basis for drawing conclusions about
population parameters.
• PROBLEM:
• Sample provides only limited information about the population.
• There’s some discrepancy between a sample statistic and the population
parameter—sampling error.
 POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES
Sampling Error
• The naturally occurring discrepancy, or error, that exists between a sample statistics
and the corresponding population parameter.
From Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (2013). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (9th ed).
Cengage Learning.
From Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (2013). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (9th ed).
Cengage Learning.
DATA STRUCTURES AND
RESEARCH METHODS
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS
⮚ Relationship Between Variables:
⮚ The Correlational Method – two different variables are observed to determine
whether there is a relationship between them.
⮚ LIMITATIONS:
1. It demonstrates the existence of a relationship between two variables, but
it doesn’t provide an explanation for the relationship.
2. It can’t demonstrate cause-and-effect!
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS

From Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (2013). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (9th ed).
Cengage Learning.
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS
Relationship Between Variables:
⮚ Experimental Method – two different variables are observed to determine
whether is a relationship between them.
⮚ The goal is to demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between two
variables.
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS

From Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (2013). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (9th ed).
Cengage Learning.
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS

From Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (2013). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (9th ed).
Cengage Learning.
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS
Relationship Between Variables:
⮚ Two Characteristics of Experimental Method:
1. Manipulation – one variable is manipulated while the second variable is
observed.
2. Control – To ensure extraneous variables do not influence the
relationship being examined.
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS
Relationship Between Variables: Experimental Method
MANIPULATION:
Independent Variable – The variable being manipulated by the researcher.
Dependent Variable – The variable that is observed to assess the effect of the
treatment.
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS
Relationship Between Variables: Experimental Method
CONTROL:
Control Condition – individuals do not receive the experimental treatment. Instead,
they either receive no treatment, or they receive a neutral, placebo treatment.
This will serve as a baseline for comparison with the experimental condition.
Experimental Condition – individuals do receive the experimental treatment.
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS
Relationship Between Variables:
⮚ Non-experimental Method: Nonequivalent Group – comparing two groups of
scores, but the researcher has no ability to control which participants go into
which group (pre-existing group).
Example: comparing 8-year—old children and 10-year-old children; or,
students from a single-parent home and those from a two-parent home.

⮚ Although considered as ”non-experiment,” it produces the same kind of data

found in an experiment.
DATA STRUCTURES AND RESEARCH METHODS
Relationship Between Variables: Non-experimental

The independent variable, used to create different groups of scores is called the
quasi-independent variable.
VARIABLES AND
MEASUREMENT
 VARIABLES AND MEASUREMENT
Construct – internal attributes or characteristics that cannot be directly observed
but are useful for describing and explaining behavior.

Operational Definition – defines a construct in terms of external behaviors that

can be observed and measured.
 VARIABLES AND MEASUREMENT
Important Terms:

1. Variable – is a characteristic or condition that changes or has different values for

different individuals.

2. Data – are measurements or observations; scores.

3. Data Set – is a collection of measurements or observations.

 VARIABLES AND MEASUREMENT
Variables based on the type of values assigned:

1. Discrete Variable – consists of separate, indivisible categories. No values can

exist between two neighboring categories.

For Example:
1.1. Number of children in a family
1.2. The different occupations.
1.3. The gender of the participants.
 VARIABLES AND MEASUREMENT
Variables based on the type of values assigned:

2. Continuous Variable – there is infinite number of possible values that fall

between any two observed values; it’s divisible into an infinite number of
fractional parts.

For Example:
2.1. The weight and height of research participants
 VARIABLES AND MEASUREMENT
● Nominal Scale
⮚ Consists of a set of categories ⮚ It allows researchers to
that have different names. determine the difference but it
⮚ Measurements are label and doesn’t identify either the
categorize observations, but do direction of the size of the
not make any quantitative difference.
distinctions between ⮚ For example:
observations. College majors
Gender
Eye-color
 VARIABLES AND MEASUREMENT
● Ordinal Scale
⮚ Consists of a set of categories ⮚ You can determine whether two
that are organized in an ordered individuals are different and its
sequence. direction, but not the size of the
⮚ Measurements on an ordinal difference.
scale rank observations in terms ⮚ For example:
of magnitude. Drink sizes
Socioeconomic class
T-shirt sizes
 VARIABLES AND MEASUREMENT
● Interval Scale ● Ratio Scale
⮚ Consists of a set of categories ⮚ An interval scale with an
that are all intervals of exactly absolute zero point.
the same size. But the zero point ⮚ For Example:
on it is arbitrary.
Kelvin (Temperature)
⮚ For example:
Age
Temperature: Celsius or
Height
Fahrenheit
Weight
 VARIABLES AND MEASUREMENT
Try these!
● An English professor uses letter grades (A, B, C, D, and F) to evaluate a set
of a student essays. What kind of scale is being used to measure the
quality of the essays?
ANSWER: Ordinal
● The teacher in a communications class asks students to identify their
favorite reality television show. The different television shows make up a
_______ scale of measurement.
ANSWER: Nominal
Source: [Link]
STATISTICAL NOTATION
 SUMMATION NOTATION
● Do you know how to use this?

Σ
 SUMMATION NOTATION
Σ - this is called “sigma” which is used to stand for summation.

⮚ Example: X
1. = 3+1+7+4 = 15 3
2. = 9+1+49+16= 75
1
3. = 225
7

4
 SUMMATION NOTATION
Σ - this is called “sigma” which is used to stand for summation.

⮚ Example: X (X-1)

1. = 2+0+6+3 = 11 3 2 4

2. = 4+0+36+9= 49 1 0 0

7 6 36

4 3 9
reference:

Gravetter, F.J., & Wallnau, L.B. (2013). Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences (9th ed).
Cengage Learning.