Deck 10: A Brief Course in Statistics

Question 1

Measures of dispersion provide information about:

A)the most frequently occurring score in a distribution
B)the middle score in a distribution
C)the variability of the scores in a distribution
D)the average of the scores in a distribution

Answer 1

the variability of the scores in a distribution

Question 2

Which of the four sets of scores below has the largest standard deviation? Set A: 2,2,2,4,4,4
Set B: 1,8,55,73,96
Set C: 4.0,4.1,3.9,4.0,4.1
Set D: 588.5,588.4,590.6,592.5,590.0

A)Set A
B)Set B
C)Set C
D)Set D

Answer 2

Set B

Question 3

Which of the following is a measure of dispersion?

A)alpha
B)standard deviation
C)median
D)mean

Answer 3

standard deviation

Question 4

The best term for the observations that are the subject of statistical analysis is:

A)numbers
B)findings
C)distributions
D)data

Question 5

How many total unique outcomes are there for a series of 10 fair coin tosses?

A)2 x 10 = 20 unique outcomes
B)102 = 100 unique outcomes
C)22 x 102 = 400 unique outcomes
D)2¹⁰ = 1024 unique outcomes

Question 6

Unlike descriptive statistics,all inferential statistics are grounded ______.

A)mathematics
B)calculus
C)bimodal distributions
D)probability theory

Question 7

The expected frequency for heads in a series of 100 tosses of a fair coin is:

A)1/2
B)between .4 and .6
C)50
D)between 40 and 60

Question 8

If a set of scores is normally distributed,then abo___ of the scores should fall within one standard deviation from the mean.

A)25%
B)half
C)2/3
D)95%

Question 9

If two fair coins are flipped,what is the probability both coins will turn up heads?

A).25
B).50
C).33
D).17

Question 10

The formula Χ² =Σ is used to calculate:

A)standard deviation
B)effect size
C)a chi-square test
D)a t-test

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a descriptive statistic?

A)alpha
B)standard deviation
C)median
D)mean

Question 12

The probability of an event is the total number of all specific outcomes that qualify as the event divided by:

A)the total number of outcomes that don't qualify as the event
B)the total number of all possible outcomes
C)the number of unique ways to combine all the outcomes that qualify as the event
D)the number of observations in the pool from which the event was drawn

Question 13

Based on your conceptual knowledge of what a standard deviation is,which of the following is the standard deviation of the scores 2,2,4,and 4?

A)1
B)2
C)3
D)4

Question 14

The probability of rolling a 3 on a single roll with an unbiased six-sided die is:

A)1/3
B)1/1
C)1/2
D)1/6

Question 15

The mean of a set of scores is most representative of the typical score when:

A)the standard deviation is very large
B)the standard deviation is moderate
C)the standard deviation is very small
D)the standard deviation is the same as the range

Question 16

Most of the things that psychologists measure in their research approximate______ distribution.

A)bimodal
B)normal
C)rectangular
D)modal

Question 17

When computing inferential statistics,we usually want to know the likelihood of getting results:

A)exactly like those we observed - based on chance
B)as extreme as or more extreme than those we observed - based on chance
C)as significant as ours - based on chance
D)exactly like ours if the null hypothesis is false

Question 18

Statistics are:

A)a set of mathematical procedures for summarizing and interpreting observations
B)a set of mathematical formulas for determining the meaning of research findings
C)a branch of mathematics having to do with the probabilities of outcomes
D)a precise,mathematical form of reasoning

Question 19

If you were to graph the six possible scores that can be obtained by rolling a single six-sided die,what type of distribution would you have?

A)normal distribution
B)rectangular distribution
C)bimodal distribution
D)none of these

Question 20

People who do not have any formal training in statistics are much more familiar wi_____ than wi_____.

A)inferential statistics;descriptive statistics
B)descriptive statistics;inferential statistics
C)parametric statistics;nonparametric statistics
D)the Bhagavad-Gita;any kind of statistics

Question 21

If the critical value of a chi-square statistic were 3.841,and the chi-square value you obtained in a statistical analysis of your data were 6.89,this would mean that:

A)your results were statistically significant
B)your results were not statistically significant
C)you would be allowed to conduct a follow-up test on your results
D)you would be allowed to reduce your alpha level to avoid a Type I error

Question 22

According to the text,a good way to avoid Type II errors is to:

A)word the dependent measures carefully
B)make sure that the independent variables are meaningful
C)choose the right population
D)all of these

Question 23

Which of the following experimental designs can maximize the chances of detecting a small effect?

A)a within-subjects design
B)a between subjects design
C)a time-series design
D)a one-group design

Question 24

As most inferential statistics (e.g. ,t values,chi square values,F ratios)become larger,the probability values (p values)associated with them:

A)become smaller
B)become larger
C)remain the same
D)must be adjusted to take into account the required changes in alpha level

Question 25

Estimates _______ size are useful to evaluate the magnitude and importance of specific research findings.

A)sample
B)effect
C)range
D)standard deviation

Question 26

Avoiding restriction of range and using within-subjects designs are two good ways to avoid making:

A)a Type I error
B)a Type II error
C)a Type III error
D)a Type IV error

Question 27

It is easier to commit a Type II error when:

A)you have a small sample size
B)the effect in which you are interested is small
C)your alpha level is set very low
D)all of the above are true

Question 28

Why would a researcher want to conduct a meta-analysis of effect sizes?

A)To determine what effect size to use in her study
B)To replicate an experiment
C)To find the average observed effect size of the topic of interest
D)To determine what alpha level she should use

Question 29

If it is impossible to conduct a within-subjects design within a certain experiment,what else can the researcher do to detect a real effect?

A)choose a higher alpha level
B)design a new experiment from scratch
C)increase the sample size
D)effect size isn't important,so nothing needs to be done

Question 30

Increasing the number ______ in a study is one of the best ways to increase the chances of detecting a real effect.

A)participants
B)dependent variables
C)controls
D)manipulations

Question 31

Committing a Type I error means:

A)you accept the null hypothesis when it is actually false
B)you reject the null hypothesis when it is actually true
C)your effect size is not large enough
D)your experiment is not replicable

Question 32

Which of the following is most likely to yield a clear and simple picture of how big a specific effect is?

A)a coefficient of determination
B)a meta-analysis
C)a binomial effect size display
D)a point-biserial correlation coefficient