data analysis

• observation, self reports, non experimental methods

  researcher does not intervene or manipulate
• dependant variable

  measured by experimenter
• independant variable

  manipulated by experimenter
• What is qualitative data expressed in?

  Words, descriptions or pictures
• What are examples of qualitative data?

  Interviews, self-reports, surveys
• What is quantitative data expressed in?

  Numerically
• What are examples of quantitative data?

  Surveys, experiments
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative data?

  Strengths of Qualitative Data:

  • Offers more richness of detail
  • Provides greater insight into thoughts, feelings, and opinions
  • Greater external validity

  
  

  Weaknesses of Qualitative Data:

  • Subjective
  • Difficult to analyze
  • May fail to represent life accurately

  
  

  Strengths of Quantitative Data:

  • Easier to analyze and summarize
  • More objective and less open to bias
  • Easier to identify patterns

  
  

  Weaknesses of Quantitative Data:

  • Difficult to analyze meaningfully
  • May have a narrow focus
  • Less meaning than qualitative data
• What is the term for data collected by the researcher themselves?

  Primary data
• What is the term for data collected from other sources?

  Secondary data
• What are the measures of central tendency?

  • Mean: Average of the data
  • Mode: Most frequently occurring value
  • Median: Middle value when data is ordered
• How does an outlier affect the mean and median of a data set?

  An outlier increases the mean but the median is closest to the actual data.
• What is a measure of dispersion?

  • Indicates how spread out the values are in a data set.
  • Examples include Range and Standard Deviation.
• What is the range of a data set?

  The difference between the highest and lowest values.
• What does a low standard deviation indicate about a data set?

  It indicates that the data points are close to the mean.
• What does a large standard deviation indicate about a data set?

  It indicates a wide spread of data.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of measures of dispersion?

  Advantages:

  • Quick and easy to calculate
  • Provides a realistic view of the distribution of values

  
  

  Disadvantages:

  • Can be distorted by extreme values
  • May not represent the data accurately
• What is primary data?

  Original data taken by the researcher first hand to answer specific research questions
• What is secondary data?

  Data collected by someone else for other purposes, such as government statistics
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data?

  Advantages:

  • Matches research needs
  • Quicker and cheaper to obtain

  
  

  Disadvantages:

  • May be outdated or incomplete
  • Might not match intended research
• What are measures of central tendency?

  They are ways of describing averages in a data set (mean, mode, median)
• What is the mean?

  The mean is the sum of all values divided by the number of values
• What is the mode?

  The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a data set
• What is the median?

  The median is the middle value when the data set is ordered
• How do you calculate the median position in a data set?

  The median position is calculated using the formula $\frac{n+1}{2}$, where $n$ is the number of values
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the mean, median, and mode?

  Mean:

  • Advantages: Uses all data points, sensitive to changes
  • Disadvantages: Affected by outliers

  
  

  Median:

  • Advantages: Not affected by outliers, better for skewed data
  • Disadvantages: Does not use all data points

  
  

  Mode:

  • Advantages: Useful for categorical data, easy to calculate
  • Disadvantages: May not represent the data well if there are many modes
• What is a measure of dispersion?

  A measure of dispersion indicates how spread out the values in a data set are
• What is the range?

  The range is the difference between the highest and lowest values in a data set
• What is standard deviation?

  Standard deviation measures how much variation exists from the mean in a data set
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of standard deviation?

  Advantages:

  • Sensitive measure of dispersion
  • Provides insight into variability

  
  

  Disadvantages:

  • Can be distorted by extreme outliers
• What does a low standard deviation indicate?

  A low standard deviation indicates that data points are clustered closely around the mean
• What does a large standard deviation indicate?

  A large standard deviation indicates a wide spread of data points away from the mean