Week 1 - Content Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is data?
Items of information that can be measured or observed
What are continuous variables?
Values in the set can take on any value within a finite or infinite interval. eg/ height, time, age, temperature.
What are discrete variables?
Value in the set which are distinct and have no intermediate values Eg/ number of blood cells, number or people.
What are qualitative variables?
Are not recorded as a numerical value, describes qualities characteristics or attributes. Eg/ colour, taste, smell, mood.
What are quantitative variables?
information which is recorded as a numerical value, can be counted or measured. Eg/ Height, weight, age.
What are ranked variables?
information which has been compared and given a place relative to the other information it was compared to. Eg/ academic grades, clothing sizes, income level.
What are nominal variables?
type of qualitative information which categorises information into distinct mutually exclusive labels or categories without inherent order or ranking Eg/ gender, nationality, postcodes, marital status.
What is accuracy?
How close given set of measurements are to their true value.
What is precision?
How close measurements are to each other.
What is reliability?
Consistency of the results of the experiment, has it been repeated.
What is validity?
Whether measurements accurately reflect what it is intended to measure
What is intra-operator error?
If the investigator repeated the experiment and the results the investigator obtained were different was previous data.
What is inter-operator error?
If an investigator repeated the method of an experiment done by a different investigator and obtained different results
What is inter-observer reliability?
How much the test results depend in the person conducting the experiment.
Give examples of operator error?
Not using equipment properly, variation in the way the experiment is done, poor sampling technique.
What are ways to minimise bias?
Standardise procedure, trial run experimental method, use the correct equipment.
What is investigator bias?
bias on part of the investigator/s of study toward a particular research result.
What is the technical error of measurement?
Numerical value which indicates how precise you were making repeated measurements, given by an equation.
What is the standard deviation?
Numerical value which is a measure of the dispersion of the data, represents the variation of data points around the mean.
What is natural variation?
Randomness or fluctuations of data due to biological factors such as genetics, developmental factor or lifestyle factors.
What is the formula for the TEM?
TEM = square root of the sum of the difference between X1 and X2 squared over two times the number of participants measured.
What is the equation for the relative TEM?
Relative TEM (%) = [TEM / ({M1 + M2}/2] x 100
What is the equation for the standard deviation?
SD = the square root of the sum of (X - mean) squared / (n - 1)
What is the formula for the coeffiecient of variation?
CV% = (SD/mean) x 100
