Deck 1: Why Is My Evil Lecturer Forcing Me to Learn Statistics

Question 1

Examine the histogram of the qualifying distance for the men's long jump final at the London Olympics in 2012. How would you describe the appearance of the histogram?

A) Negatively skewed
B) Positively skewed
C) Positive kurtosis (leptokurtic)
D) Negative kurtosis (platykurtic)

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is an example of correlational research?

A) Skinfold thicknesses and body fat in triathletes
B) Percentage body fat in rugby union and rugby league players
C) Alterations in percentage body fat following six weeks of aerobic exercise
D) Body fat measures using air displacement plethysmography (ADP), dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and bioelectrical impedance (BIA)

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following examples would be considered as a continuous variable?

A) Sex of participants
B) University courses
C) Rank order of preferred modules (e.g. 1 = like the most, 5 = like the least
D) Heart rate

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The results of the men's long jump final at the London Olympics in 2012 are given below. What is the mean distance jumped by the top 10 athletes?

A) 8.04 m
B) 8.05 m
C) 8.06 m
D) 8.07 m

Question 5

A 400 m race time would be considered an example of which level of measurement?

A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio

Question 6

Why might the range not be an accurate representation of data dispersion for the data presented in Q17?

A) Distorted by the lower scores
B) Distorted by the higher scores
C) Distorted by both the lower and higher scores
D) Distorted because the data are platykurtic

Question 7

When describing the central tendency and dispersion of a data set, which of the following are acceptable formats? (You may select more than one option.)

A) Mean and standard deviation
B) Median and interquartile range
C) Mode and standard deviation
D) Mean and interquartile range

Question 8

A group of researchers wanted to know whether a new portable, online gas analysis system provided an accurate measure of VO₂ max. To assess whether the VO₂ max measures were sufficiently accurate a group of participants performed an incremental exercise test using the new portable system. The test was then repeated one week later, but this time using Douglas bags. How would you define this type of validity?

A) Concurrent validity
B) Content validity
C) Criterion validity
D) Predictive validity

Question 9

What is the median distance jumped by the top 10 athletes (see Q15)?

A) 8.05 m
B) 8.07 m
C) 8.09 m
D) 8.11 m

Question 10

Which of the following is not a hypothesis?

A) Compression garments are the best way to prevent the delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS).
B) Consumption of caffeine equal to 6 mg/kg of body mass increases reaction time when compared to a placebo.
C) Increased levels of physical activity in school children will lead to prolonged concentration during taught sessions.
D) Listening to music whilst actively cooling down after high-intensity exercise will facilitate the removal of blood lactate and accelerate the recovery process compared with no music.

Question 11

The courses studied by a group of undergraduate students would be considered an example of which level of measurement?

A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio

Question 12

Which of the following is an example of experimental research?

A) Stature (height) in men and women
B) Hours of physical activity and duration of concentration in school children
C) Aerobic capacity and marathon race time
D) Attitude and motivation to perform a specific task

Question 13

If sport and exercise science students were asked to rank biomechanics, physiology, psychology, nutrition and research methods on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being the subject you like the most and 5 being the one you like the least, which level of measurement would it be?

A) Nominal
B) Ordinal
C) Interval
D) Ratio

Question 14

Likert scales are frequently used in psychology to measure intangible phenomena such as motivation. If a five-point Likert scale was used to determine an individual's motivation to perform a specific task, which of following best describes the variable?

A) Discrete variable
B) Continuous variable
C) Ratio variable
D) Nominal variable

Question 15

Researchers wanted to examine the impact of a high-protein diet (e.g. Adkins diet) in a group of individuals who had been sedentary for a minimum of 20 years. A variety of physiological phenomena such as blood pressure and blood glucose concentrations were measured before, during and after the diet. How might you describe the research design of such a study?

A) Between-groups design
B) Between-within design
C) Within-subjects design
D) Independent-groups design

Question 16

If maximum oxygen uptake (VO₂ max) was considered the independent variable, which of the following would be an appropriate dependent variable?

A) Marathon race time
B) Concentration of muscle lactate
C) Delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS)
D) All of the above

Question 17

A sports psychologist was interested in the effects of a six-week imagery intervention on an athlete's ability to execute a sport-specific skills such penalty taking in football/soccer. How might you define the imagery variable?

A) Independent variable
B) Dependent variable
C) Outcome variable
D) Resultant variable

Question 18

Assuming the histogram in Q17 is not normally distributed (i.e. does not have a 'bell-shaped' curve appearance), what would be the most appropriate measure of central tendency?

A) Mean
B) Mode
C) Median
D) Menial

Question 19

How would you conceptualize the measurement of blood pressure from a group of individuals on multiple occasions to see if the results were sufficiently similar?

A) Reliability
B) Validity
C) Similarity
D) Predictability

Question 20

A prediction from a theory is known as a

A) Hypothesis
B) Hypotenuse
C) Hypnosis
D) Hypothalamus

Question 21

How is a research hypothesis denoted?

A) H₀
B) H₁
C) H₂
D) H₃

Question 22

How is a null hypothesis denoted?

A) H₀
B) H₁
C) H₂
D) H₃

Question 23

Based on the data provided in Q15, calculate the z-score for the participant who finished third in the men's long jump final.

A) 0.5
B) 0.4
C) 0.6
D) 0.3

Question 24

Jessica Ennis won the Olympic heptathlon in London, but how did she perform in the 100 m hurdles, high jump and long jump compared with the other athletes? Using the data below, calculate Jess Ennis' z-scores for the three previously mentioned events. 100 m Hurdles

A) -2.3
B) -1.3
C) 2.3
D) 1.3

Question 25

Which of the following would be classed as a null hypothesis?

A) There will be no significant difference in simple reaction times between men and women.
B) There will be a significant difference in simple reaction times with women being faster than men.
C) There will be a significant difference in simple reaction times with men being faster than women.
D) There will be a significant difference in simple reaction times.

Question 26

If the interquartile range is less sensitive to outlying data points (see the histogram in Q16), what might be an appropriate measure of central tendency?

A) Mean
B) Mode
C) Median
D) Menial