Descriptive statistics

Question 1

nominal data

Answer 1

results are shown in 2 or more categories
shows number of times something occurred
no scores for individual participants

Question 2

ordinal data

Answer 2

individual scores for each participant
results can be placed in rank order

Question 3

interval data

Answer 3

made up from a scientific scale
individual score for each participant
can go into negatives
e.g temperature

Question 4

ratio data

Answer 4

made up from a scientific scale
individual score for each participant
cant go into negatives - absolute zero
mathematical units
e.g weight, distance, time

Question 5

strength of nominal data

Answer 5

easy to analyse

Question 6

strength of ordinal data

Answer 6

allows for some comparison between participants, can rank them
data can be simplified and treated as nominal

Question 7

strength of interval and ratio data

Answer 7

provides measurement of participants in universally accepted measurements
allows for detailed comparison
data can be simplified and treated as ordinal or nominal

Question 8

weakness of nominal data

Answer 8

does not allow for comparisons between participants

Question 9

weakness of ordinal data

Answer 9

data doesn’t always allow us to see difference between participants’ scores only that someone has scored better/worse
not measured in scientific units

Question 10

weakness of interval and ratio data

Answer 10

no weaknesses

Question 11

strength of mean and is it CT or D

Answer 11

CT - uses all raw data so representative

Question 12

strength of median and is it CT or D

Answer 12

CT - not affected by extreme scores

Question 13

strength of mode and is it CT or D

Answer 13

CT - not influenced by extreme scores and can show most popular value

Question 14

weakness of mean

Answer 14

misreading as affected by extreme scores

Question 15

weakness of median

Answer 15

can be distorted by small sample sizes

Question 16

weakness of mode

Answer 16

does not use all the data so may not be representative

Question 17

strength of range and is it CT or D

Answer 17

D - easy to calculate

Question 18

strength of variance and is it CT or D

Answer 18

D - takes every score into account and is therefore not affected by outliers

Question 19

strength of SD and is it CT or D

Answer 19

D - more in line with the original set of data

Question 20

weakness of range

Answer 20

can be influenced by extreme scores
can be misleading as it tells us nothing about the distribution of the other scores

Question 21

weakness of variance

Answer 21

data is not in line with the original set of data

Question 22

weakness of SD

Answer 22

requires a more complex calculation

Question 23

steps of SD calculation (7)

Answer 23

1. add up number of scores to give you n
2. calculate the mean
3. calculate difference between individual score and the mean score
4. square the difference
5. sum the square roots
6. divide the sum of squares by n
7. root the variance

Question 24

3 types of bar chart

Answer 24

bar chart, stacked bar chart, paired bar chart

Question 25

strength of quantitative data

Answer 25

allows for easy comparison between groups so can draw valid conclusions

Question 26

strength of qualitative data

Answer 26

gain insight into behavior, may learn why people behaved the way they did

Question 27

weakness of quantitative data

Answer 27

limited insight into data know what happened but don't know why

Question 28

weakness of qualitative data

Answer 28

harder to compare between groups and participants prone to bias, subjective

Question 29

primary data

Answer 29

data collected directly by the researcher through a study

Question 30

secondary data

Answer 30

data obtained by other people

Question 31

strength of primary data

Answer 31

researcher in control so can ensure that the data is collected properly like standardized instructions - more faith invalidity of findings

Question 32

weakness of primary data

Answer 32

data does not already exist so the researcher would need to plan a suitable and ethical procedure for data collection which takes time

Question 33

strength of secondary data

Answer 33

data already exists so it can be accessed without the need to plan and carry out suitable research

Question 34

weakness of secondary data

Answer 34

quality of the data will be subject to any weaknesses present in the original design so validity in findings may be questionable

Question 35

which tables record raw data

Answer 35

frequency tables and tally charts