16.4 APPENDIX REVIEW
Statistics: Understanding Data

KEY POINTS

Descriptive Statistics

Inferential Statistics

KEY TERMS

Match each of the terms on the left with its definition on the right. Click on the term first and then click on the matching definition. As you match them correctly they will move to the bottom of the activity.

Question

correlation
correlation coefficient
descriptive statistics
frequency distribution
frequency polygon
histogram
inferential statistics
mean
measure of central tendency
measure of variability
median
mode
negative correlation
population
positive correlation
range
sample
scatter diagram or scatter plot
skewed distribution
standard deviation
standard normal curve or standard normal distribution
statistics
symmetrical distribution
t-test
Type I error
Type II error
z score
Erroneously concluding that study results are significant.
A measure of variability; the highest score in a distribution minus the lowest score.
A branch of mathematics used by researchers to organize, summarize, and interpret data.
A subset of a population.
The score that divides a frequency distribution exactly in half so that the same number of scores lie on each side of it.
A way of graphically representing a frequency distribution; frequency is marked above each score category on the graph's horizontal axis, and the marks are connected by straight lines.
A finding that two factors vary systematically in the same direction, increasing or decreasing together.
A distribution in which scores fall equally on both sides of the graph. The normal curve is an example of a symmetrical distribution.
A measure of variability; expressed as the square root of the sum of the squared deviations around the mean divided by the number of scores in the distribution.
A summary of how often various scores occur in a sample of scores. Score values are arranged in order of magnitude, and the number of times each score occurs is recorded.
The most frequently occurring score in a distribution.
Test used to establish whether the means of two groups are statistically different from each other.
Failing to find a significant effect that does, in fact, exist.
A symmetrical distribution forming a bell-shaped curve in which the mean, median, and mode are all equal and fall in the exact middle.
A finding that two factors vary systematically in opposite directions, one increasing as the other decreases.
A single number that presents some information about the "center" of a frequency distribution.
A single number that presents information about the spread of scores in a distribution.
The sum of a set of scores in a distribution divided by the number of scores; the mean is usually the most representative measure of central tendency.
A number, expressed in standard deviation units, that shows a score's deviation from the mean.
A complete set of something—people, nonhuman animals, objects, or events.
The relationship between two variables.
A graph that represents the relationship between two variables.
Mathematical methods used to organize and summarize data.
Mathematical methods used to determine how likely it is that a study's outcome is due to chance and whether the outcome can be legitimately generalized to a larger population.
An asymmetrical distribution; more scores occur on one side of the distribution than on the other. In a positively skewed distribution, most of the scores are low scores; in a negatively skewed distribution, most of the scores are high scores.
A way of graphically representing a frequency distribution; a type of bar chart that uses vertical bars that touch.
A numerical indication of the magnitude and direction of the relationship (the correlation) between two variables.