Statistical Concepts

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 Statistical Terms
 Statistics
 Descriptive Statistics
 Inferential Statistics
 Sample
 Population
 Variable

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 Scales of Measurement
 Nominal
 Ordinal
 Interval
 Ratio

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 Nominal Scale
 The nominal scale of measurement describes
qualitative rather than quantitative differences.
 Any item being measured can only fit into one
category.
 Categories imply no level of ranking or
quantitative value.

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 Ordinal Scale
 Ordinal scales are similar to nominal scales in
that they classify discrete variables.
 Unlike nominal scales, ordinal scales rank
variables in terms of magnitude.
 Because ordinal scales are not quantitative in
nature, no assumption of equal intervals
between values is made.

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 Interval Scale
 Ranks variables by order of magnitude.
 Unlike ordinal scales, interval scales provide
equally spaced levels between variables.
 Interval scales have no absolute zero.

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 Ratio Scale

 Ratio scales track order of magnitude,

have equal intervals, and have an absolute
zero.

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 Examples of Scales of Measurement

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 Describing Test Scores
 Distributions
 Graphs
 Measures of Central Tendency
 Measures of Variability
 The Normal Curve
 Measures of Relationship

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 Distributions
 Distribution – a set of scores

 Frequency Distribution – a distribution ranked by the

number of responses for each variable.

 Group Frequency Distribution – a distribution that

groups ranges of scores. Often used when there is a
high number of discrete scores.

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 Descriptors of Curves

 Symmetry
 Symmetrical – one side of the curve
mirrors the other
 Asymmetrical – skew exists in the curve

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  Skewness – the degree to which the distribution of a
curve is asymmetrical.
 Positive Skew - a distribution with an asymmetrical “tail”
extending out to the right.
 Negative Skew - a distribution with an asymmetrical “tail”
extending out to the left.

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  Kurtosis – a statistic that reflects the
peakedness or flatness of a distribution
relative to a normal distribution.

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 Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Central Tendency describe
distributions based on the average
performance of a test score.

Measures of Central Tendency are typically

represented through the mean, median,
and mode.

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 Mean
 A numeric value that represents the average
value for the distribution of scores.
 Most common measure of central tendency
 Used with interval and ratio scales
 Calculated by totaling test scores and dividing
the sum by the number of individuals who
took the test.

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 Median
 The middle score that divides a distribution in
half.
 Used with ordinal, interval, or ratio scales
 Helpful with highly skewed distributions.
 Calculated by determining the center score in a
distribution. When there is an even number of
scores, the two middle scores are averaged.

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 Mode
 The most common score or value that appears in a set
of scores.
 Used with nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio
variables.
 Calculated by counting the score that appears most
often in a distribution.
 It is possible to have a bimodal (2 most common
scores) or multimodal (multiple most common
scores) distribution.

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 Distribution Curves and Measures of
Central Tendency
 In a symmetrical (normal) curve, the values for the mean,
mode, and median are identical.
 The mean can be impacted by outlying scores.
 In asymmetrical distributions, the median may be the best
measure of central tendency.

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 Measures of Variability
 Variability – the degree to which scores differ from one another.
 Measures of Variability – the degree to which scores differ
from the mean. There are several methods for measuring
variability.

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 Range
 Measures the spread of scores.
 Calculated by subtracting the lowest score
from the highest score.
 Outlying scores can limit the utility of
range as a measure of variability.

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 Variance
 The average amount of variability in a group
of scores.
 Variance is typically used to compute other
statistics, rather than being used as a stand-
alone statistic.

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 Standard Deviation
 Most common measure of variability.

 Provides an average distance of test scores from the

mean.

 Larger standard deviations indicate greater variance from

the mean and greater variance between scores.

 Standard Deviation provides a sense of where an

individual score stands in relation to the mean.

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 The Normal Curve
 The normal curve, often referred to as the normal
distribution, represents the theoretical distribution of any
set of scores.

 The normal curve is applied to many constructs in

counseling, such as memory and intelligence.

 Some areas in counseling are not normally distributed,

such as depression.

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Properties of the Normal Curve
 It is bell shaped.
 It is bilaterally symmetrical, which means its two halves are identical.
 The mean, median and mode are equal to one another.
 The tails are asymptotic, meaning they approach but never touch the
baseline.
 It is unimodal, which means that it has a single point of maximum
frequency or maximum height.
 100% of the scores fall between -3 and +3 standard deviations from the
mean with
 approximately 68% of the scores falling between -1 and +1 standard deviations,
 approximately 95% of the scores falling between -2 and +2 standard deviations,
and
 approximately 99.5% of the scores falling between -3 and +3 standard
deviations.

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 Illustration of a Normal Curve

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 Measures of Relationship
 Another important statistical measure in
testing involves the measurement of the
relationship between two variables.

 For example, counselors may be interested in

the relationship between depression and
hours of sleep each evening.

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 Methods of Measuring Relationships
 Correlation Coefficient
 Pearson Product Moment Correlation
 Spearman’s Rho
 Phi coefficient
 Scatterplots
 Regression
 Factor Analysis

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 Correlation Coefficient
 Correlation Coefficients range from -1.00 to +1.00 and
indicate the relationship between two variables.

 The direction of a correlation coefficient is either

positive, indicating that when a score in one variable
goes up that the score in the other variable will also go
up, or negative, indicating that when a score on one
variable goes up that a score in the other variable will
go down.

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  The strength of a correlation is indicated by the
numeric value of the coefficient. A 1.00
correlation, negative or positive, indicates a
perfect relationship between two variables. A zero
indicates no relationship between two variables.

 Correlation does not imply causation!

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  Pearson Product Moment Correlation -
Measures the relationship between two
continuous variables (weight, height,
intelligence, etc..)
 Spearman’s Rho – A variation of Pearson’s r
used for finding the relationship between ordinal
variables.
 Phi Coefficient – Used to assess the degree of
association between two nominal values.

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 Scatterplots
 Graphical displays representing the
correlation between two variables.
 The tighter the clustering of scores in a
scatterplot the stronger the relationship
between them.

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 Regression
 Regression is the analysis of relationships
among variables for the purpose of
understanding how one variable may predict
another.
 Linear regression – used to predict the
value of one variable based on the value of
another.
 Multiple regression – used to predict the
value of one variable based on values from
multiple variables.
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 Factor Analysis
 Factor analysis is a data reduction technique
used to analyze the relationships among
large numbers of variables to explain the
variables by their common dimensions.

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