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Biostats Exam 1 Verified and Updated
Questions and Answers (100% Correct
Answers)
Data
Answer: Statistics is the science of learning from data
We need to be able to talk about data before we think about how to collect and
analyze it
Individuals
Answer: things or objects from which we collect data
These are often people, animals, or other living things but do not need to be
variable
Answer: any characteristic or piece of information of an individual, the answer to
the question
Categorical variable
Answer: places individuals into distinct groups
Ex. Hair color, academic year, religion
quantitative variable
Answer: takes numeric values for which arithmetic operations make sense
Ex. Age, height, income
Continuous variables
Answer: can take any real value over an interval
Ex. Time, weight, altitude
Discrete variables
Answer: can only take specific values
Ex. Number of children, hours enrolled, items in a grocery basket
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Nominal categories
Answer: have no inherent order
Ex. Ice cream flavor (rocky road, mint chocolate chip, butter pecan)
Ordinal categories
Answer: have a predetermined order
Ex. Fruit ripeness (unripe, ripe, over ripe)
Pitfalls of Data
Answer: -Typically the more observations we take the better the sample represents
the population
-Don't be easily impressed by "large" samples
-Be aware of what the intended population is supposed to be.
Lurking variables
Answer: -Conclusions drawn from data are simplified representations of nature and
sometimes "lie" to us
-They aren't really lying. It's a lack of understanding by the researcher that leads to
false conclusions
Variation
Answer: -Variation that we can't account for (can't explain) is sometimes referred to
as noise
-Individuals vary; repeated measurements on the same individual vary; almost
everything varies over time
Conclusions are not certain
Answer: -Conclusions are "on average" statements
-Statistics gives us a language for talking about and quantifying uncertainty
Distribution
Answer: -The distribution of a variable tells us what values it takes and how often it
takes these values.
Ex. distribution of a coin is heads or tails
Biostats Exam 1 Verified and Updated
Questions and Answers (100% Correct
Answers)
Data
Answer: Statistics is the science of learning from data
We need to be able to talk about data before we think about how to collect and
analyze it
Individuals
Answer: things or objects from which we collect data
These are often people, animals, or other living things but do not need to be
variable
Answer: any characteristic or piece of information of an individual, the answer to
the question
Categorical variable
Answer: places individuals into distinct groups
Ex. Hair color, academic year, religion
quantitative variable
Answer: takes numeric values for which arithmetic operations make sense
Ex. Age, height, income
Continuous variables
Answer: can take any real value over an interval
Ex. Time, weight, altitude
Discrete variables
Answer: can only take specific values
Ex. Number of children, hours enrolled, items in a grocery basket
, Inquire through: | Professional | Confidential Support
Nominal categories
Answer: have no inherent order
Ex. Ice cream flavor (rocky road, mint chocolate chip, butter pecan)
Ordinal categories
Answer: have a predetermined order
Ex. Fruit ripeness (unripe, ripe, over ripe)
Pitfalls of Data
Answer: -Typically the more observations we take the better the sample represents
the population
-Don't be easily impressed by "large" samples
-Be aware of what the intended population is supposed to be.
Lurking variables
Answer: -Conclusions drawn from data are simplified representations of nature and
sometimes "lie" to us
-They aren't really lying. It's a lack of understanding by the researcher that leads to
false conclusions
Variation
Answer: -Variation that we can't account for (can't explain) is sometimes referred to
as noise
-Individuals vary; repeated measurements on the same individual vary; almost
everything varies over time
Conclusions are not certain
Answer: -Conclusions are "on average" statements
-Statistics gives us a language for talking about and quantifying uncertainty
Distribution
Answer: -The distribution of a variable tells us what values it takes and how often it
takes these values.
Ex. distribution of a coin is heads or tails
