Research methods - Data handling + analysis

Question 1

What is a mean?

Answer 1

Mathematical average (add up all the scores and divide by the number of scores)

Question 2

What is a median?

Answer 2

Middle value

Question 3

What is a mode?

Answer 3

Most frequent or common value in the scores

Question 4

What is a range?

Answer 4

The difference between the highest and lowest score.

Question 5

What is standard deviation?

Answer 5

Measures how concentrated the data are around the mean.

Question 6

What are the 3 levels of measurement?

Answer 6

• Nominal
• Ordinal
• Interval

Question 7

What is nominal data?

Answer 7

• Data which is in categories
• Each participant does not have a score of their own, they are counted in categories
• All behaviour category checklists are nominal data
• All coding in a content analysis is nominal data

Question 8

What is ordinal data?

Answer 8

• This is continuous numerical data (scale)
• All participants have an individual score
• The data is ranked numerically
• The numbers have a relationship to each other

Question 9

What is interval data?

Answer 9

• Continuous numerical data
• This is where the difference between the numbers is the same
• There is a true mathematical meaning to the numbers

Question 10

What are the characteristics of a normal distribution?

Answer 10

• Bell shaped
• Symmetrical (around the mean)
• Mean, median and mode all at the same mid point

Question 11

What is a skewed distribution?

Answer 11

• “Skewed” = distorted
• What distorts the distribution is more people getting low or high values - so the data is not symmetrical - this results in the bulk of scores being on one side and a long tail on the other side

Question 12

What does the distribution of a negative skew look like?

Answer 12

A long tail on the left.

Question 13

What is a negative skew?

Answer 13

• A negative skew would result from a very easy test where a lot of people did well and the rarer few did badly
• But their very low scores would drag down the mean

Question 14

What are the characteristics of negative skews?

Answer 14

• Bulk of distribution is to the right of the graph
• Long tail to the left
• Mode is at top point of curve
• Mean is pulled down to the left
• Median is in the middle of these

Question 15

What does the distribution of a positive skew look like?

Answer 15

A long tail on the right.

Question 16

What is a positive skew?

Answer 16

• A positive skew would result from a very difficult test where a lot of people did relatively badly and the rarer few did very well
• But their very high scores would drag up the mean

Question 17

What are the characteristics of a positive skew?

Answer 17

• Bulk of distribution is to the left of the graph
• Long tail to the right
• Mode is at top point of curve
• Mean is pulled down to the right
• Median is in the middle of these