PSY 281 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Central Tendency, Confounding
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Population: the entire group of individuals (e. g. , all of the citizens of the united states) Must be able to take at lease two different values (otherwise it is a constant); for example, handedness, which is either left-handed or right-handed. Are 2 types of variables: independent variable (iv) The researcher chooses the variable and its values: dependent variable (dv) Measured as a response/effect to the iv. The experiments estimate the extent to which the iv causes a change in the dv: confounding: A variable that you try to control or randomize away. For example, you try to minimize the additional effect age may have on your sample by doing a random sample of the population you want to study: types of variables: Maybe class standing, sex, if students are employed or unemployed, etc. ) Nominal: category or name (same as group); e. g. , name of cookies; categories, no numeric values. Ordinal: used for observations that have data ranking; e. g. , ranking of favorite cookies.
