variable | anything that may take on different values or amounts
|
|
|
|
independent variable | the variable manipulated or controlled by the experimenter
|
|
|
|
dependent variable | in behavioral science, the measurement of behavior
|
|
|
|
population | a complete collection of organisms or objects having some common characteristic
|
|
|
|
parameter | a measurable characteristic of a population
|
|
|
|
sample | a subset of a population
|
|
|
|
statistic | a measurable characteristic of a sample
|
|
|
|
sampling | the process of selecting a sample from a population
|
|
|
|
unbiased sample | a sample that shows no systematic tendency relative to the population; a sample that accurately reflects the population from which it was drawn
|
|
|
|
biased sample | a sample that is unrepresentative of the population from which it was drawn
|
|
|
|
random sampling | sampling in which each population member theoretically has an equal chance of being drawn
|
|
|
|
random and independent sampling | another term for random sampling
|
|
|
|
independent sampling | another term for random sampling
|
|
|
|
sampling with replacement | sampling in which each selected individual is returned to the population before the next selection
|
|
|
|
sampling without replacement | sampling in which each selected individual is not returned to the population before the next selection
|
|
|
|
stratified random sampling | sampling in which the population is divided into groups, and random samples are taken from each group
|
|
|
|
scales of measurement | rules used to assign numbers to objects or events
|
|
|
|
measurement data | data involving a true measurement process
|
|
|
|
frequency data | data consisting of counts, totals, or frequencies
|
|
|
|
nominal scale | measurement scale assigning names or labels to different objects or events
|
|
|
|
ordinal scale | scale in which numbers serve to both identify and rank-order the objects or events
|
|
|
|
ranking | placing objects or events in order, from highest to lowest
|
|
|
|
rank-ordering | another name for ranking
|
|
|
|
interval scale | scale in which numbers serve to identify and rank-order the objects or events, and there are equal intervals between the numbers
|
|
|
|
ratio scale | interval scale with a true zero
|
|
|
|
descriptive statistics | statistics that are used to illustrate quantities of numerical observations
|
|
|
|
inferential statistics | statistical techniques that allow us to make conclusions about a larger group based on a subset of it and tell us how confident we are in our conclusions
|