STAT202 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Measuring Instrument, Dependent And Independent Variables, Confounding
Document Summary
Population: the entire group of individuals or units in which are interested by can"t usually assess directly. A parameter is a number summarizing a characteristic of the population. Sample: the part of the population we actually examine and for which we do have data. A statistic is a number summarizing a characteristic of a sample. Statistical inference: the procedure by which we reach a conclusion about a population on the basis of the information contained in a sample that has been drawn from that population. Observational study: record data on individuals without attempting to influence the responses. The purpose is to describe and compare existing groups or situations. Experimental study: deliberately impose a treatment on individuals and record their responses. The purpose is to study whether the imposed treatment causes a change in the response. Two variables (explanatory or lurking variables) are confounded when their effects on a response variable cannot be distinguished from each other.
