Deck 1: Statistics and Scientific Method

Question 1

In order to estimate the amount of TV watched by New York City adults, a sociologist surveys a random sample of adults from this city. All of the New York City adults constitute a _________.

A) population
B) sample
C) statistic
D) parameter

Answer 1

population

Question 2

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. The average (mean) weight of the Dallas Cowboys is called a _________.

A) population
B) parameter
C) sample
D) statistic

Answer 2

statistic

Question 3

In order to estimate the amount of TV watched by New York City adults, a sociologist surveys a random sample of adults from this city. The obtained raw scores are called _________.

A) data
B) constants
C) statistics
D) populations

Answer 3

data

Question 4

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. Incidence of seizures is an example of a(n) _________.

A) dependent variable
B) constant
C) statistic
D) independent variable

Question 5

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. Then you record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month without the drug. Being compulsive, you also record the number of seizures for the remaining 130 epileptics for one month. The number of seizures for each of the 130 epileptics constitutes _________.

A) the dependent variable
B) data
C) a statistic
D) independent variable

Question 6

In acquiring knowledge the method that employs logic, reasoning and objective assessment is referred to as _______.

A) the method of authority
B) intuition
C) rationalism
D) scientific method

Question 7

In order to estimate the amount of TV watched by New York City adults, a sociologist surveys a random sample of adults from this city. The average (mean) of the raw scores is a _________.

A) population
B) sample
C) statistic
D) parameter

Question 8

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The 20 subjects constitute _________.

A) the dependent variable
B) the sample
C) a statistic
D) the independent variable

Question 9

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. The Dallas Cowboys are a _________.

A) population
B) parameter
C) sample
D) statistic

Question 10

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The number of seizures for each of the 20 subjects constitutes _________.

A) the dependent variable
B) data
C) a statistic
D) the independent variable

Question 11

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The new drug is an example of a(n) _________.

A) dependent variable
B) constant
C) statistic
D) independent variable

Question 12

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. The weight of each Dallas Cowboy is(are) called ___________.

A) constants
B) data
C) parameters
D) statistics

Question 13

Which method of knowing is used in the following example? An individual accepts as true that black holes exist because 10 physics Nobel laureates assert such is the case.

A) Method of Authority
B) Method of Intuition
C) Scientific Method
D) Rationalism

Question 14

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. The average (mean) weight of all professional football players is called a _________.

A) population
B) parameter
C) sample
D) statistic

Question 15

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The average (mean) number of seizures for the 20 subjects is called _________.

A) the dependent variable
B) data
C) a statistic
D) a parameter

Question 16

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. All professional football players constitute a _________.

A) population
B) parameter
C) sample
D) statistic

Question 17

Which method of knowing is used in the following example? You have been struggling to determine the underlying explanation for the sadness you have been feeling for the past couple of months. Since you haven't come up with the explanation, you give up on the struggle and decide to just go on with your life. Two days later, an explanation pops into your consciousness that you are convinced is correct.

A) Method of Authority
B) Method of Intuition
C) Scientific Method
D) Rationalism

Question 18

In order to estimate the average (mean) weight of all professional football players, an investigator determines the weight of the "Dallas Cowboy" players. Weight is an example of a(n) _________.

A) independent variable
B) constant
C) statistic
D) dependent variable

Question 19

Let's assume you are conducting an experiment to determine the effect of a new drug on the incidence of epileptic seizures. You select 20 epileptics from the 150 epileptics being treated at a nearby hospital and administer the drug to them. You record the number of seizures in each of the 20 subjects for one month. The 150 epileptics constitute _________.

A) the dependent variable
B) a parameter
C) a statistic
D) the independent variable

Question 20

Which method of knowing is used in the following example? An individual accepts as true that there is an afterlife because a minister asserts such is the case.

A) Method of Authority
B) Method of Intuition
C) Scientific Method
D) Rationalism

Question 21

In order to estimate the height of all students at your university, let's assume you have measured the height of all psychology majors at the university. The average (mean) value of the measured height scores constitutes a _________.

A) population
B) sample
C) parameter
D) statistic

Question 22

When one analyzes data based on a sample, one calculates a _________.

A) parameter
B) variable
C) constant
D) statistic

Question 23

In order to estimate the attention level of college undergraduates in the United States, a psychologist measures the attention span of the undergraduates at a local university. The undergraduates at the local university are a _________.

A) parameter
B) population
C) sample
D) statistic

Question 24

In order to estimate the ratio of white to black students in his college, a professor determines the proportion of whites and blacks in his class. The resulting proportion is called a _________.

A) population
B) sample
C) parameter
D) statistic

Question 25

In order to estimate the ratio of white to black students in his college, a professor determines the proportion of whites and blacks in his class. The students of the entire college are called a _________.

A) sample
B) population
C) statistic
D) parameter

Question 26

Mathematical methods used to draw tentative conclusions about a population based on sample data are referred to as _________.

A) descriptive statistics
B) sample statistics
C) inferential statistics
D) random sampling

Question 27

In order to estimate the height of all students at your university, let's assume you have measured the height of all psychology majors at the university. The resulting raw scores are called _________.

A) constants
B) data
C) coefficients
D) statistics

Question 28

To avoid unknown, systematic factors that may bias the results of an experiment, the experimenter should select a _________ sample from a population and use controlled conditions.

A) wise
B) small
C) random
D) single

Question 29

In order to estimate the attention level of college undergraduates in the United States, a psychologist measures the attention span of the undergraduates at a local university. The mean of these scores is a _________.

A) parameter
B) population
C) statistic
D) sample

Question 30

From which of the following studies can one most reasonably determine cause and effect?

A) correlational study
B) true experiment
C) naturalistic observation
D) all these

Question 31

In order to estimate the height of all students at your university, let's assume you have measured the height of all psychology majors at the university. If you had measured the height scores of all students at your university, these scores would constitute a _________.

A) population
B) sample
C) parameter
D) statistic

Question 32

In order to estimate the ratio of white to black students in his college, a professor determines the proportion of whites and blacks in his class. The students in the professor's class are called a _________.

A) sample
B) population
C) statistic
D) parameter

Question 33

In order to estimate the height of all students at your university, let's assume you have measured the height of all psychology majors at the university. If you had measured the height scores of all students at your university, the average (mean) of these scores would constitute a _________.

A) population
B) sample
C) parameter
D) statistic

Question 34

In inferential statistics the object is usually to generalize from a _________ to a _________.

A) data; variable
B) sample; population
C) population; sample
D) constant; variable

Question 35

For a list of sample data the lowest and highest score values are examples of _________ statistics.

A) inferential
B) sample
C) population
D) descriptive

Question 36

In order to estimate the height of all students at your university, let's assume you have measured the height of all psychology majors at the university. The height scores of all psychology majors constitute a _________.

A) population
B) sample
C) parameter
D) statistic

Question 37

Inferential statistics _________.

A) is the same as descriptive statistics
B) also uses methods of descriptive statistics
C) allows one to make inferences about a sample based on population data
D) allows one to make inferences about a population based on sample data
E) also uses methods of descriptive statistics and allows one to make inferences about a population based on sample data

Question 38

The variable that the experimenter manipulates is called the _________.

A) independent variable
B) dependent variable
C) constant variable
D) experimental variable

Question 39

Descriptive statistics are used to _________.

A) calculate the mean and standard deviation of a sample
B) calculate the mean and standard deviation of a population
C) graph a distribution of raw scores
D) all of these

Question 40

In the equation Y = bX + a , b is a(n) _________.

A) independent variable
B) dependent variable
C) constant
D) coefficient
E) constant and coefficient

Question 41

A parameter is defined as _________.

A) the score on the dependent variable of a particular subject in the population
B) a number calculated on population data that quantifies a characteristic of the population
C) a number calculated on sample data that quantifies a characteristic of the sample
D) the number of individuals in the population

Question 42

Descriptive statistics are helpful in _________ and _________ raw data.

A) generalizing; inferring
B) organizing; tenderizing
C) confusing; confounding
D) summarizing; characterizing

Question 43

A sample is defined as _________.

A) the subjects in an experiment
B) the complete set of individuals, objects, or scores that the investigator is interested in studying
C) a subset of the population
D) the subjects in an experiment and a subset of the population
E) the subjects in an experiment and the complete set of individuals, objects, or scores that the investigator is interested in studying

Question 44

I am certain I will find this course _________.

A) fun
B) fatal
C) interesting
D) insufficient data to answer question

Question 45

A statistic is to a sample as a parameter is to a population.

Question 46

Observational studies involve the manipulation of variables by the investigator.

Question 47

The dependent variable is the variable that is systematically manipulated.

Question 48

Data is defined as _________.

A) the measurements that are made on the subjects of an experiment
B) the score on the dependent variable of a particular subject in the sample
C) the score on the dependent variable of a particular subject in the population
D) the number of individuals in the sample

Question 49

Pick the best answer from the following statements.

A) The measurements that are made on the subjects of an experiment are called data.
B) A statistic is a number calculated on sample data that quantifies a characteristic of the sample.
C) A parameter is a number calculated on population data that quantifies a characteristic of the population.
D) All of these statements are true.

Question 50

Observational studies involve the use of independent variables.

Question 51

A variable is defined or identified as _________.

A) "Early Education", in an experiment studying the effect of Early Education on IQ
B) a characteristic of some event, object or person that has the same value regardless of differing times or conditions.
C) a characteristic of some event, object, or person that may have different values at different times depending on the conditions.
D) "IQ", in an experiment studying the effect of Early Education on IQ
E) a, c, and d

Question 52

A population is defined as _________.

A) the complete set of individuals living in Seattle in a study interested in the complete set of individuals living in the US.
B) the complete set of individuals the investigator wishes to generalize to from an experiment.
C) the complete set of individuals, objects, or scores that the investigator is interested in studying
D) a and c
E) b and c

Question 53

Inferential statistics uses the sample data to generalize to populations.

Question 54

A statistic is defined as _________.

A) the score on the dependent variable of a particular subject in the sample
B) a number calculated on population data that quantifies a characteristic of the population
C) a number calculated on sample data that quantifies a characteristic of the sample
D) the number of subjects in the sample

Question 55

True experiments involve the manipulation of variables by the investigator.

Question 56

The independent variable in an experiment is defined or identified as _________.

A) "IQ", in an experiment studying the effect of Early Education on IQ.
B) variable that is systematically manipulated by the experimenter
C) the variable the experimenter measures to determine if there is a real effect
D) "Early Education", in an experiment studying the effect of Early Education on IQ
E) the variable that is systematically manipulated by the experimenter and "Early Education", in an experiment studying the effect of Early Education on IQ

Question 57

A sample is a subset of a population.

Question 58

The dependent variable in an experiment is defined or identified as _________.

A) the variable the experimenter measures to determine if there is a real effect
B) the variable that is systematically manipulated by the experimenter
C) "IQ", in an experiment studying the effect of Early Education on IQ
D) "Early Education", in an experiment studying the effect of Early education on IQ
E) a and c

Question 59

Descriptive statistics involves characterizing the obtained data.

Question 60

The independent variable is the variable that is measured to determine the effect of the independent variable.

Question 61

When data has not yet been analyzed, this is called raw data.

Question 62

One task of research is to study a subset of the population and try to make inferences about the whole population.

Question 63

In an experiment conducted to determine the effect of testosterone on aggression, testosterone is the independent variable.

Question 64

Descriptive statistics are used to make inferences about the population.

Question 65

Statistical methods that use sample data to make statements about populations are called inferential statistics.

Question 66

The main difference between rationalism and the scientific method is that the scientific method relies on objective assessment to test the idea.

Question 67

In a study of caloric intake on weight loss, the number of pounds lost (or gained) is the independent variable.

Question 68

The goal of descriptive statistics is solely to summarize, and organize data.

Question 69

Define parameter.

Question 70

The method of authority is opposed to the scientific method.

Question 71

If one measured the height of all the women at a university and took an average of the data, the university women would be a sample of the population of all university women in the world.

Question 72

In inferential statistics random sampling is regarded as desirable but not essential.

Question 73

One is able to determine cause and effect from observational studies.

Question 74

The only value of random sampling is to achieve a representative sample.

Question 75

Intuition is not a valid way of developing research hypotheses.

Question 76

In observational studies the researcher manipulates the experiment and observes the results closely.

Question 77

In order to determine cause and effect, a researcher needs to do a true experiment.

Question 78

Data are an indispensable part of scientific method.

Question 79

Intuition is often used as part of scientific method.

Question 80

Naturalistic observation is rarely used by scientists because it does not make use of the scientific method.