Advanced Planning Methods

The assignment of numbers to some phenomenon that we are interested in analyzing

a statement that describes how a concept will be measured

a variable or set of observations that results from applying the operational definition

Educational attainment for Head Start participants is defined by the achievement scores on the ITBS

Indicators may not be a complete measure of a concept.

consensual validity

it consistently assigns the same number to some phenomenon that has not changed

• subjectivity (relies on the judgement of measurer or respondent)
• lack of precision

Reliability can be determined objectively (test-test reliability)

interval level; based on a unit or interval that yields results in repeated application (ex. tons of garbage, response time in minutes)

It is possible to say that one unit of observation has more or less. (ex. very satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied)

• Contingency tables are are used to analyze nominal and ordinal-level data
• Regression Analysis requires interval-level data

It pinpoints an idea or element thought to be essential in accounting for the entire class

If an increase (decrease) in the independent variable is thought to an increase (decrease) in the dependent variable

The two variables move or vary together

nonspuriousness

It addresses the question of whether, in a given study or research project, the independent variable did indeed cause or lead to changes in the dependent variable

It concerns whether and to what extent results obtained in a given study can be inferred or generalized to hold true in settings, time periods, and populations different from the ones used in the study (ex. Are the results in the study applicable 20 years from now?)

The ability of the researcher to control exposure to the experimental treatment or independent variable

A table that pairs data values-or range of data values-with their frequency of occurence

Class frequency is the number of observations of a variable within a particular class; total frequency is the total number of observations in the table

The frequency of each class should be divided by the total frequency for that case

a number of score or data value that represents the average in a group of data

An outlier has a much greater distorting effect on the mean than the median; when a phenomenon cannot be measured on an equal interval scale, the median is more helpful.

It tells how much the data do or do not cluster about the mean

the square root of the average squared deviation of the data from the mean; based on the squared differences between every item in a data set and the mean of that set

the number of standard deviations a score of interest lies from the mean of the normal distribution

It measures statistical significance for relationships between variables measured at the nominal or ordinal level.  It also assesses whether the relationship observed in a cross-tabulation in a sample of data is sufficiently strong to infer that a relationship is likely to exist in the full populatuion

There is NO relationship between the two variables in the population and determines whether any apparent relationship obtained in a sample cross-tabulation is attributable by chance

a number that gives some idea of the size of the empirical contingency table under study. You find it by multiplying one less than the number of columns Ex. (3-1)(3-1)= 4 degrees of freedom

It is the exact probability of error that he or she is willing to tolerate in making an inference from the sample cross-tabulation to the parent population in the long run. Ex.