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Chapter 1 Questions
Complete the following questions. The questions may include pictures or graphics to illustrate or aid in solving the problem. You can check your answer by clicking View Answer. If the question is unclear, confusing, or if you need further clarification, send me an email.
1. Define the following term: Dependent variable
Answer
Dependent variable:
The variable that is measured by the experimenter, assumed to be affected by the independent variable.
2. Define the following term: Independent variable
Answer
Independent variable: The variable that is controlled or manipulated by the experimenter, assumed to affect the dependent variable.
3. Define the following term: Sample
Answer
Sample: A subset of the population of interest, the group of objects studied by the experimenter when the entire population is not available for study.
4. Define the following term: Population
Answer
Population: The complete set of objects making up the group of interest.
5. Define the following term: Statistic
Answer
Statistic: A characteristic or description of some quality of the sample drawn from the population of interest.
6. Define the following term: Parameter
Answer
Parameter: A characteristic or description of some quality of the population of interest.
7. Define the following term: Random assignment
Answer
Random assignment: The practice of assigning subjects to experimental conditions in a manner so as to assure that each subject has an equal opportunity to receive each treatment.
8. What is the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics?
Answer
Descriptive statistics are those statistics that are simply descriptive of qualities of samples. They are not intended to describe or be generalized to the population of interest. Inferential statistics are those statistics that are calculated on the basis of sample data, but are intended to be used in inferring qualities of the population of interest.
9. What is an experiment? Can a "true" expermient really establish causality?
Answer
The standard definition of an experiment is that it is a study in which 1) the independent variable is controlled by the experimenter, 2) subjects are randomly assigned to experimental conditions, and 3) controls for alternative explanations of findings are in place. No, there are no "true" experiments in the sense that all of the three criteria for an experiment cannot be met. It is impossible to control for every alternative explanation for research findings. There are always potential effects upon our data which cannot be ruled out and, therefore, we can never be certain that our independent variables actually cause changes in our dependent variables.