PSY 2106 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Statistical Inference, Level Of Measurement, Frequency Distribution

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSY 2106
• Professor: Stephanie Baker

Document Summary

Two purposes of statistics: 1) organize and summarize information; 2) draw conclusions based on data to answer questions. Statistics: set of mathematical procedures for organizing, summarizing and interpreting information. Population: the entire group of individuals that adhere to the research question. Sample: a smaller, representative selection from the population. Variable: characteristics that differ between individuals, or any outside condition that could affect the data/experiment. Data set: the collection of measurements or observations. Parameter: a value that is based off of and describes the population. Statistic: a value that is based off of and describes the sample. Descriptive statistics: used to organize, summarize and simplify data. Inferential statistics: methods used to make generalizations from samples to describe populations. Sampling error: naturally occurring error in the sample that misrepresents the population. Correlational method of research: observe and compare two sets of data, however you cannot guarantee causation.