Chapter 5

convenience sample

choosing individuals who are easiest to reach

random sample

method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected

random assignment

being randomly assigned to a given experimental group to reduce bias

sample size

the number of individuals in a sample (depends on the variability of the population)

golden rule of sampling

sample must be similar/match population as close as possible

self-selection

a form of sampling bias that occurs when a sample contains only people who volunteer to participate

external validity

the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other situations and to other people

homogenous population

population with little standard deviation/variability

Sample

a subset of the population

Population

entire group that has something in common

Conditional Probability

the probability of an event ( A ), given that another ( B ) has already occurred.

Probability

# of successes/# of total trials

Law of Large Numbers

over time, actual outcomes will tend to mirror predicted outcomes

Null Hypothesis (H0)

NO relationship between or among variables

Alternate Hypothesis (Ha)

there IS a relationship among variables

?

odds of making a Type I error/chance of accepting Ha & being wrong

?

odds of making a Type II error

Power

chance of accepting Ha & being right