Ch7 Exam Questions + Summarizing and Interpreting Data Using

Test Bank

Chapter 7: Summarizing and Interpreting Data: Using Statistics

Multiple Choice

1. The ______ statistics summarize a distribution, while the ______ statistics provide a test of the hypothesis.

a. central; variability

b. variability; central

c. inferential; descriptive

d. descriptive; inferential

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Descriptive Statistics: Summarizing the Data

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. A distribution is a(n) ______.

a. descriptive statistic

b. inferential statistic

c. value that represents a typical score

d. set of scores

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Descriptive Statistics: Summarizing the Data

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. The ______ indicates the most common score in a distribution.

a. range

b. standard deviation

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. The ______ measure of variability indicates the average difference between the scores of a distribution and the mean of a distribution.

a. range

b. standard deviation

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. A(n) ______ hypothesis predicts a directional effect, whereas a(n) ______ hypothesis predicts an effect in either direction.

a. one-tailed; two-tailed

b. two-tailed; one-tailed

c. null; alternative

d. alternative; null

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. A(n) ______ hypothesis predicts no effect, whereas a(n) ______ hypothesis predicts an effect.

a. one-tailed; two-tailed

b. two-tailed; one-tailed

c. null; alternative

d. alternative; null

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. In inferential statistics, we look for evidence against the ______.

a. alternative hypothesis

b. scientific hypothesis

c. independent variable hypothesis

d. null hypothesis

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. In a research study the p value obtained for the inferential statistic is .08. This means that ______.

a. there is an 8% chance of obtaining these data when the null hypothesis is false

b. there is an 8% chance of obtaining these data when the null hypothesis is true

c. there is a 92% chance of obtaining these data when the null hypothesis is true

d. there is a 92% chance of obtaining these data when the null hypothesis is false

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. As researchers, we usually set alpha at .05 because ______.

a. this allows us to remove all error from our statistical test

b. this sets our Type I error rate at 5%

c. this sets our Type II error rate at 95%

d. this sets our Type I error rate at 95%

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. If we reject the null hypothesis when it’s really true, we have made a ______.

a. correct decision

b. Type I error

c. Type II error

d. Type I and Type II errors

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. If we retain the null hypothesis when it’s really false, we have made a ______.

a. correct decision

b. Type I error

c. Type II error

d. Type I and Type II errors

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. The decision to reject the null hypothesis in a statistical test is made when ______.

a. the researcher cannot conclude that the null is true

b. p < alpha

c. p > alpha

d. the researcher initially sets the alpha level

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. If we find that an inferential test for an experiment is significant, this means that ______.

a. the condition means significantly differed

b. the null hypothesis should be accepted

c. the condition means did not differ

d. a Type I error has been made

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Inferential Statistics: Testing Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

Use the following description for questions (14)–(16): An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that exercise affects memory in the elderly. Subjects aged 60 and older were recruited for the study. All of the subjects were presented with the same study list. Then half of the subjects were asked to walk on a treadmill for 20 minutes, while the other half of the subjects were asked to complete Sudoku puzzles for 20 minutes. Then all subjects were given a recognition test for the items in the study list. The treadmill exercise group scored significantly lower on the recognition test than the Sudoku puzzle group.

14. The alternative hypothesis in this study is ______.

a. one-tailed

b. two-tailed

c. not testable

d. the same as the null hypothesis

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Hard

15. Based on the results reported above and an alpha level of .05, the ______ p value is possible for the test comparing the groups in this study.

a. .085

b. .85

c. 1.85

d. .008

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Hard

16. Of the following, ______ cannot explain the results of this study.

a. exercise decreases memory abilities

b. more subjects with better memory were assigned to the Sudoku group than the exercise group

c. subjects in the exercise group paid l attention to the study list than subjects in the Sudoku group

d. exercise increases memory abilities

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Hard

17. The calculated average of the scores in a distribution is the ______.

a. range

b. mean

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. The middle score in a distribution, such that half of the scores are above, and half are below that value, is the ______.

a. range

b. mean

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. The most common score in a distribution is the ______.

a. range

b. mean

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. Extreme high or low scores in a distribution are referred to as ______.

a. outliers

b. extremes

c. edges

d. limits

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

21. The difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution is the ______.

a. range

b. mean

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. There are three main categories of descriptive statistics that help researchers summarize data including all but ______.

a. graphs/tables

b. central tendency

c. variability

d. hypotheses

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Descriptive Statistics: Summarizing the Data

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. Three basic measures are commonly used to indicate the central tendency of a distribution including all but ______.

a. mean

b. correlation

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. The ______ is the most commonly reported measure of central tendency.

a. mean

b. range

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. High or low extreme scores pull the ______ toward the top or bottom of the distribution’s range.

a. mean

b. range

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. When a distribution includes several outliers, researchers often report the ______ in addition to or instead of the mean.

a. distribution

b. range

c. mode

d. median

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

27. The measurement of the length of time to complete a task is called ______.

a. completion time

b. reaction time

c. task completion time

d. finishing time

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

28. The ______ is the most basic measure.

a. mean

b. range

c. standard deviation

d. variance

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Variability

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. The ______ ignores all the scores between the most extreme scores and therefore is a crude measure of variability.

a. mean

b. range

c. standard deviation

d. variance

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Variability

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. The ______ is determined by calculating the difference between each score and the mean, squaring those values, adding them up, and dividing by n−1.

a. mean

b. range

c. standard deviation

d. variance

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Variability

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. The number of scores that can vary in the calculation of a statistic is called the ______.

a. mean

b. range

c. degrees of freedom

d. variance

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Variability

Difficulty Level: Easy

32. A graph of a distribution showing the frequency of each response in the distribution is called a ______.

a. frequency distribution

b. line graph

c. scatterplot

d. bar graph

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Graphs/Tables

Difficulty Level: Easy

33. A graph showing the relationship between two dependent variables for a group of individuals is called a ______.

a. frequency distribution

b. line graph

c. scatterplot

d. bar graph

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Graphs/Tables

Difficulty Level: Easy

34. A graph of the means for different conditions in a study where each mean is graphed as a point and the points are connected in a line to show differences between mean scores is called a ______.

a. frequency distribution

b. line graph

c. scatterplot

d. bar graph

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Graphs/Tables

Difficulty Level: Easy

35. A graph of the means for different conditions in a study where the bar height represents the size of the mean is called a ______.

a. frequency distribution

b. line graph

c. scatterplot

d. bar graph

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Graphs/Tables

Difficulty Level: Easy

36. For correlational studies with a predictor and outcome, the predictor variable is typically plotted on the ______.

a. y-axis

b. z-axis

c. x-axis

d. vertical

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Graphs/Tables

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. In simple terms the null hypothesis is that a relationship ______ in the study population.

a. is weak

b. is not significant

c. does not exist

d. does not merit review

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. “In the general population, older individuals have lower memory scores than younger individuals.” is a ______ hypothesis.

a. null

b. two-tailed

c. one-tailed

d. untestable

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. A graph of the means for different conditions in a study where the bar length represents the size of the mean is a bar graph.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Graphs/Tables

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. The null hypothesis is the opposite hypothesis to the scientific or alternative hypothesis.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Two-tailed hypotheses are typically made only when a researcher has a logical reason to believe that one particular direction of the effect will occur.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. One way that researchers sometimes estimate the population mean from the sample mean is with a confidence interval.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. If the p value is more than alpha, the test is said to be significant.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. The critical region is the most extreme portion of a distribution of statistical values for the null hypothesis determined by the alpha level.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. A Type II error is an error made in a significance test when the researcher fails to reject the null hypothesis when it is actually false.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. The distribution of sample means is used to determine how likely it is that any sample mean will occur for a population.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. A graph of the means for different conditions in a study where each mean is graphed as a point and the points are connected in a line to show differences between mean scores is a line graph.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Graphs/Tables

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. A Type II error is an error made in a significance test when the researcher rejects the null hypothesis when it is actually true.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. For correlational studies with a predictor and outcome, the outcome variable is typically plotted on the x-axis.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Graphs/Tables

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. The basic measures of central tendency of a distribution are: the mean, the median, and the range.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Correlation indicates a typical score in the distribution of collected scores.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. In the distribution of scores, 3, 8, 5, 9, 20, 4, the score “20” is an outlier.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. The degree of freedom is the most commonly reported measure of central tendency.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Variability

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. Reaction-time distributions typically include scores that are clustered around an average score that represents the typical speed of response.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.1: Compare different descriptive statistics to summarize data

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Central Tendency

Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Discuss why it is important to summarize what a study’s data contain before trying to analyze if the sample is representative and our hypothesis supported.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Descriptive Statistics: Summarizing the Data

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Explain why it is necessary to set an alpha level of an inferential test.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. What does the p value in an inferential test represent?

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. A researcher is conducting a study to test the hypothesis that viewing family photos (as compared with viewing photos of strangers) prompts more autobiographical memories. State the null and alternative hypotheses for this study.

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.2: State null and alternative hypotheses for a study

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Hypotheses

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. For the study above, suppose the test to compare the conditions resulted in a p value of .037. What decision should the researcher make in this case?

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Hard

6. Suppose that in reality the null hypothesis is true for this effect. In this case, what type of decision has been made in the above statement (correct, Type I error, or Type II error)?

KEY: Learning Objective: 7.3: Interpret a significant result

REF: Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Significance Testing

Difficulty Level: Medium