PSYC 1010 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Statistical Inference, Descriptive Statistics, Operational Definition
2 Dec 2013
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Descriptive statistics: organizes, summarizes and communicates a group of numerical observations. Inferential statistics: uses sample data to make general estimates about the larger population. Sample: a set of observations drawn from the population of interest. Population: includes all possible observations about which we"d like to know something. Two main branches of statistics are descriptive statistics & inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics describe large amounts of data in a single/few numbers: ex. Average weight of women has increased from 140. 2lbs to 164. 3lbs. Inferential statistics infer or make an intelligent guess about the population. Inferring that all women weigh more now when only a few were physically weighed. Population is typically who we are interested in but a sample is used for conducting studies: sample is used because it is very difficult to study every person in a population. Variable: any observation of a physical, attitudinal or behavioural characteristic that can take on different values.
