Question 1

A psychologist is interested in the effectiveness of a new method for teaching math to third graders.She is testing it on several third grade classes.In this example,the population is

Accepted Answer

The population of interest in this study is all third graders. The psychologist wants to generalize the findings to all third graders, not just the ones in the classes being tested. Therefore, the population is all third graders.

Question 2

Researchers usually cannot use populations when doing their studies because

Accepted Answer

It is usually impractical or impossible for researchers to use populations as it would require studying every individual within the population, making it extremely expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, researchers use samples to make inferences about populations.

Question 3

A researcher wants to find out if a new math program is superior to the old math program that is used to teach college algebra at a community college.She selects 400 students from the total student body of 4,000 students to participate in this study.The 400 students would be considered the

Accepted Answer

The 400 students selected from the total student body of 4,000 students represent a subset of the population, and are therefore a sample. The experimental group would only be a subset of the sample that receives the new math program, while the control group would be a subset of the sample that receives the old math program.

Question 4

Dr.Little is interested in studying the effects of a new medication on children with asthma between the ages of six and 12.She gets permission to try the medication on asthma patients in several hospital clinics.In this example,the sample includes children

Accepted Answer

The sample includes children with asthma between the ages of six and 12 from the specific clinics where Dr. Little conducts her study.

Question 5

Inferential statistics are used for

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics are used to draw conclusions and make generalizations from small or sample data, which is helpful in decision making based on limited data. Therefore, option D is the correct choice.

Question 6

A major requirement for a sample to be used in psychological research is that it be

Accepted Answer

A representative sample is important in order to ensure that the findings of a study can be generalized to the larger population. If a sample is not representative, the results may only apply to the specific group of individuals who were studied and cannot be generalized to the larger population. While statistical significance is important in determining the strength of results, it is not a requirement for the sample itself. Practicality may be a consideration in terms of the feasibility of recruiting participants, but it is not a requirement for the sample itself.

Question 7

A very important aspect of representative samples is that their members are

Accepted Answer

Representative samples must be chosen by random selection to ensure that each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. This helps to minimize bias and increase the generalizability of the results to the larger population. Central tendency and equal variability are not relevant factors for selecting representative samples, and being significant members of the population does not necessarily make an individual representative of the entire population.

Question 8

Regarding samples,which of the following statements is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

Samples are commonly used in research and are representative of the population from which they are drawn. Inferential statistics are often used in analyzing data from samples. While obtaining a sample may require effort, it is not typically considered too difficult to obtain for research purposes.

Question 9

Representativeness as it refers to a sample means

Accepted Answer

Representativeness refers to the extent to which the sample group reflects the characteristics of the larger population. Therefore, choice B is the correct answer, while the other options (size of the sample, probability of being picked, and gender distribution) do not necessarily determine representativeness.

Question 10

An entire set of subjects,objects,or events belonging to a particular category is called a

Accepted Answer

The answer of An entire set of subjects,objects,or events belonging...

Question 11

Of the 4,000 students at Meridian Community College,250 were randomly selected to be surveyed regarding their views on the on-line learning classes.The students who were randomly selected and surveyed would constitute the

Accepted Answer

The randomly selected students represent a sample of the larger population of 4,000 students at Meridian Community College. They are not an experimental group or control group as there is no intervention or comparison being made. Therefore, the best choice is C - representative sample.

Question 12

In your research study,you find that a small group of students who completed a computer tutorial on problem- solving skills scored significantly higher in their college algebra class than those who did not.Thus,the statistics that allow us to generalize these findings to other college algebra students are called _______ statistics.

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics allow us to generalize findings from a small sample to a larger population. In this case, the small group of students who completed the computer tutorial on problem-solving skills can be used to make inferences about how similar students from the larger population may perform in their college algebra class. Descriptive statistics simply describe the data, while graphical statistics present the data in a visual format. Ordinate refers to the vertical axis in a graph, but is not a type of statistical analysis.

Question 13

The political science class randomly selected 150 adults from the community in order to obtain their opinions on the upcoming presidential race.This group of 150 people would be considered the

Accepted Answer

The political science class selected a subset of the population (community adults) to represent their opinions on the upcoming presidential race. Therefore, this group of 150 people would be considered a representative sample. B) Experimental group would imply the manipulation of a variable in a research study, which is not the case here. C) Population refers to the entire group of individuals being studied, which is larger than the sample. D) Control group refers to a group used for comparison in an experiment, which is not applicable here.

Question 14

Of the 4,000 students at Meridian Community College,300 were surveyed regarding their views on the menu at the college cafeteria.All of the students at Meridian Community College would be the

Accepted Answer

The population refers to the entire group of individuals or objects that are of interest to the researcher, in this case, all 4,000 students at Meridian Community College. The 300 students who were surveyed are a sample, or a smaller subset of the population. The terms experimental group and control group are typically used in experimental research, which does not appear to be relevant to this scenario.

Question 15

For his research study,Dr.Safar wants to make sure that his sample is a representative one.The most effective way for him to do this is to

Accepted Answer

Random selection ensures that every member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample, which helps to prevent sampling bias and ensures a representative sample. Calculating the correlation coefficient, minimizing the standard deviation, and using a scatter diagram do not address the issue of sampling bias.

Question 16

When a psychologist wishes to generalize results to an entire population,he or she would use _______ statistics.

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics are used to generalize results to a larger population based on a sample. Descriptive statistics summarize the characteristics of a sample, but do not make inferences beyond the sample. Holistic statistics and correlational statistics are not commonly used or recognized terms in the field of psychology.

Question 17

A sample is

Accepted Answer

A sample is a portion of a population. It is usually taken in order to estimate characteristics of the population as a whole. Measures of central tendency and variability are calculated on both samples and populations, while the z-score and standard deviation are measures of variability, not equivalent to a sample.

Question 18

Smaller cross-sections that are used to draw conclusions about the entire population are called

Accepted Answer

Samples are smaller cross-sections that are used to draw conclusions about the entire population. Partial sets, data units, and frequency distributions are not specifically used for this purpose.

Question 19

A researcher studies the effects of a new therapy on a small group of depressed individuals in the hopes of generalizing these findings for use with all depressed people.This researcher is using _______ statistics.

Accepted Answer

Inferential statistics are used to make generalizations about a larger population based on a smaller sample. In this scenario, the researcher is hoping to generalize the findings from a small group of depressed individuals to all depressed people, making inferential statistics the appropriate choice. Descriptive statistics would simply describe the characteristics of the small group without generalizing to a larger population. Normative and random statistics are not relevant to this scenario.

Question 20

A small,randomly-selected part of a larger population that accurately reflects characteristics of the whole population is a _______ sample.

Accepted Answer

A representative sample accurately represents the larger population and its characteristics, making it a reliable sample for study and analysis. Correlational, significant, and variant do not accurately describe the characteristics of a sample.

Quiz 79: Behavioral Statistics