30 Questions
What is the primary purpose of the null hypothesis in a research study?
is a statement that there is no effect or no difference between two variables or groups. It is the default or starting position that researchers aim to disprove through their study.
Which of the following statements is true about the null hypothesis?
It is a statement that there is no effect or no difference between two variables or groups
What is the alternative hypothesis (H1 or Ha) in a research study?
A statement that there is an effect or relationship in the population
What is the main difference between sample variance and population variance?
Sample variance is a measure of the spread or dispersion of values within a sample, while population variance is a measure of the spread or dispersion of values within a population
Why do researchers use statistical methods in psychology?
To quantify the spread or dispersion of values within a dataset and make informed conclusions
What is the primary reason why researchers reject the null hypothesis?
Because there is sufficient evidence to conclude there is a real effect or relationship in the population
What is the purpose of significance testing?
To provide probabilistic information and corroborate theories
What happens to the sampling distribution of the mean as the sample size increases?
It approaches a normal distribution
What does a small p-value indicate?
The null hypothesis should be rejected
What is the purpose of the null hypothesis in significance testing?
To state there is no effect or difference
What is the relationship between the standard deviation of the sampling distribution and the sample size?
The standard deviation decreases as the sample size increases
What is the primary role of the p-value in significance testing?
To measure the probability of the observed result
What does a larger p-value (greater than 0.05) indicate about the observed data?
That the observed data is reasonably likely to have occurred even if the null hypothesis is true
According to Gelman (2016), why is the replication crisis more prominent in psychology?
Because psychology focuses on the concepts of validity and reliability
What is a common route to replication issues in research?
P-hacking and data dredging
What is a consequence of psychology's focus on validity and reliability?
Psychology is more open to criticism
Why is the replication crisis more prominent in psychology, according to Gelman (2016)?
Because psychology is a more open field
What is a result of overconfidence in research designs?
An increase in the likelihood of replication issues
What is a key assumption about the distribution of population errors in statistical models?
They are normally distributed
What is the main difference between a discrete variable and a continuous variable?
Discrete variables have specific values, while continuous variables can take any value
What is the primary goal of model building in statistical analysis?
To fit the model to the actual data
Why is it important to check descriptive statistics for signs of miscoding or other mistakes?
To detect errors in the data collection process
What is the primary difference between process models and statistical models?
Process models are theoretical, while statistical models are empirical
What is the typical structure of data in statistical analysis?
Matrices with rows as respondents and columns as variables
What can occur when researchers make a series of decisions during data analysis without pre-specifying an analysis plan?
An increase in the false-positive rate
What is the purpose of preregistering hypotheses in a research study?
To decrease the false-positive rate
What is the formula for a (1−α) × 100% Confidence Interval for the population mean μ when the population standard deviation σ is known?
$$M \pm z_{\frac{\alpha}{2}}\frac{\sigma}{\sqrt{n}}$$
What is the term for the population standard deviation σ divided by the square root of the sample size n?
Standard error of the mean
What is the value of α in the context of a 95% Confidence Interval?
0.05
What is the purpose of using a Confidence Interval for the population mean μ?
To provide a range of values within which the population mean μ is likely to lie
Revise the basics of statistics with this quiz on Lecture 1 and 2. Test your understanding of key terms and concepts, including the null hypothesis and its role in research studies.
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