Summer Vocabulary

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Across
  1. 2. from the mean-Deviation from the mean for a data value is the difference between the value and the mean. The deviation from the mean can be positive, negative, or zero. For example, in the data set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, the mean is 3, and the deviations from the mean for each data value are {-2, -1, 0, 1, 2}. Adding all the deviations from the mean, positive and negative, must result in zero, since the mean represents a balance point for these deviations -- the point at which the excesses and deficits are perfectly balanced.
  2. 3. probability model-The binomial probability model specifies the probabilities for each of the two possible outcomes in a binomial experiment.
  3. 4. observational study-A comparative observational study seeks to determine differences in measured groups, where each group is selected based on a differentiating criterion. For example, an observational study might compare smokers to non-smokers, or men to women. The difference between an observational study and an experimental study is that in an experimental study, participants are actively given different behaviors, while in an observational study, the different behaviors are predetermined and are used to place participants into groups.
  4. 6. is an arrangement for the values in a data set. For example, the data sets {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} and {3, 3, 3, 3, 3} each have a mean and a median equal to 3, but they are very different allocations. Allocation can also be used to describe the proximity of values to the mean; values may be closely distributed to or widely distributed from the mean, for example.
  5. 8. study-A comparative study focuses on the relationship(s) between two or more sets of data. For example, a comparative study might demonstrate that, on average, the winners of a Best Actress award are younger than the winners of a Best Actor award. Comparative studies often use box plots and other statistical comparisons to prove that the distributions are different in a significant way.
  6. 9. data-Discrete data are data whose measurements are obtained by counting and whose values must be whole numbers. The number of people living in a town, the number of times a person has been struck by lightning, the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a lollipop -- these are all discrete data.
  7. 10. of a comparative study-The design of a comparative study is the step-by-step description of how the study is conducted, including the selection process of participants and the process of data collection. Designs must be created in ways that reduce potential sources of bias.
  8. 11. plot-A box plot, also known as a box-and-whiskers plot, is a graphical representation of the Five-Number Summary of a data set. A box is drawn from the lower quartile (Q1) to the upper quartile (Q3); a horizontal line across the box indicates the median. Two whiskers are drawn, one from the lower quartile to the minimum and one from the upper quartile to the maximum. Box plots can be used to make graphical comparisons between data sets and to measure the variation within parts of a data set.
  9. 15. association between two variables exists when a change in the values for one variable produces a systematic change in the other. If an increase in one variable tends to result in an increase in the other, the association is positive. If an increase in one variable tends to result in a decrease in the other, the association is negative.
Down
  1. 1. census is an attempt to include every individual in a given population in a sample.
  2. 2. are a set of values for a measured variable.
  3. 3. analysis-Bivariate analysis is a kind of data analysis that explores the association between two variables.
  4. 4. describes the way two variables simultaneously change together.
  5. 5. table-A contingency table lists the number of values in each quadrant of a scatter plot.
  6. 7. frequency table-design of a comparative study
  7. 12. frequency-Cumulative frequency specifies how many data values are of a particular number or smaller. For example, in the data set {1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 26}, the cumulative frequency for the value 4 is nine, since there are nine values in the set that are 4 or less. The cumulative frequency for the value 2 is four; the cumulative frequency for the value 26 is 11; and so on. The statement "You scored higher than 10 other students in this class" is a statement of cumulative frequency
  8. 13. variable-A continuous variable is a quantitative variable whose values can take on any value on a number line; it may contain a decimal or fractional value. For example, time is a continuous variable since its values can be any number zero or greater. Time can be measured on a number line, and any point on the number line is a possible point in time. This is in contrast to a discrete variable, which can only accept whole numbers as values (such as the number of raisins in a box).
  9. 14. or systematic error, favors particular results. A measurement process is biased if it systematically overstates or understates the true value of a variable.