SOAN 3120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Test Statistic, Bias Of An Estimator, Categorical Variable

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology and Anthropology
• Course: SOAN 3120
• Professor: Andrew Hathaway

Document Summary

Positive correlation of adults iq in comparison to their children. Be wary of omissions and selective presentation of data. Data sets made up of cases- cases can represent groups, people, countries (analysis of a unit) Cases are made up of variables- different characteristics individuals can take on ex- gender. Quantitative variables- numerical values of a given unit of measure ex-years of age. Distribution- variable that tells the range and frequency of values it includes. Ordinal variables- natural order ex- survey attitude statements. Amounts- also non-negative, but do not need to be integers (also called ratio variables, since meaningful ratios of two values may be formed). Relative frequencies (portions, percents, and rates) have both min and max values. Interval scales- since zero point is the arbitrary ( ex zero celcius), can compare ratios of differences, or intervals, but cannot form meaningful ratios. ***methods of analysis often depend on the nature of the variables.