LESSON # 1| THEORY
SECOND SEMESTER | 2024 | Gil Eugenio
Bundac
○ A bad example: Can
humans achieve
immortality through
meditation? (Too
broad and unrealistic)
5. Relevance – The problem
should matter in the field of
⬥What Makes a Research Problem? study and be testable.
1. A Gap in Knowledge –
○ Example: Does sleep
Something that hasn’t been studied
deprivation negatively
yet or needs further exploration.
affect decision-making
in emergency
○ Example: How does
responders?
social media usage
affect short-term
memory retention in "One-Sided Love" is NOT a
college students? Research Problem
2. Contradicting Results –
● It’s a situation, not a question.
When different studies show ● It doesn’t identify a
opposing findings. knowledge gap or
contradiction.
○ Example: Do
● It doesn’t propose something
introverts or extroverts testable or measurable.
perform better in
remote learning
environments?
3. A Fact That Exists –
What is Statistics?
Something observed in real
life that needs explanation. Statistics is a branch of
mathematics and science that deals
○ Example: What factors with the collection, organization,
contribute to the presentation, interpretation,
gender imbalance in evaluation, and discussion of
psychology majors? numerical data.
4. Possible and Attainable – ● It is used to analyze patterns,
The research should be test hypotheses, and make
feasible with available informed decisions based on
resources. data. Statistics can be
descriptive (summarizing
LESSON # 1| THEORY
SECOND SEMESTER | 2024 | Gil Eugenio
Bundac
data) or inferential (making true zero point
predictions based on data)
4. Ratio – Numbers with equal
intervals and a true zero
○ Example: Height,
Variables in Statistics (NOIR): Weight, Age, Income
1. Nominal – Categories ○ Can measure
without order differences and ratios
(e.g., 10 kg is twice as
○ Example: Gender heavy as 5 kg)
(Male, Female), Eye
Color (Blue, Brown,
Green)
Experimental Research
○ No ranking or Variables
numerical value
1. Independent Variable (IV) –
2. Ordinal – Categories with The variable that is
order, but no exact manipulated or controlled by
difference the researcher.
○ Example: Satisfaction ○ Example: Sunlight in
levels (Satisfied, a plant growth
Neutral, Dissatisfied), experiment.
Class rankings (1st,
2nd, 3rd) ○ The "method of
manipulation" refers
○ Has ranking but no to how the independent
measurable variable is applied
difference between (e.g., covering a plant
values with a tin can to block
sunlight).
3. Interval – Numbers with
equal intervals, but no true 2. Dependent Variable (DV) –
zero The variable that is measured
or observed in response to the
○ Example: Temperature independent variable.
in Celsius (0°C doesn’t ○ Example: The growth
mean “no of the plant (height,
temperature”), IQ number of leaves,
scores etc.).
○ Can measure
differences, but no
LESSON # 1| THEORY
SECOND SEMESTER | 2024 | Gil Eugenio
Bundac
Example Experiment: ● Sample Size (n): The total
number of observations in a
1. Research Question: Does the dataset.
amount of sunlight affect plant
growth? ○ Example: If you
2. IV (Manipulated): Amount survey 30 people, then
of sunlight (Full sun, Partial n = 30.
shade, No sunlight)
3. DV (Observed): Plant height
after 2 weeks
The Story Behind Numbers:
Variance and Standard
Deviation
Real Statistics
Imagine you and your friends took a
1. Descriptive Statistics – math test. You all got different scores,
Summarizes and organizes but you want to understand how
data to describe a dataset spread out those scores are. This is
without making predictions or where variance and standard
inferences. deviation come in!
Key Concepts:
What is Variance?
● Measure of Central Tendency –
Describes the center of a Variance measures how far each
dataset. number in a dataset is from the mean
(average). It tells us how much the
○ Mean (Average): Sum data varies or spreads out.
of values divided by
the number of values.
○ Median: Middle value
in an ordered dataset.
○ Mode: Most
frequently occurring
value.
● Frequency (Counting): The
number of times a value
appears in a dataset.
○ Example: If 5 students
score 90 on a test, the
frequency of 90 is 5.
LESSON # 1| THEORY
SECOND SEMESTER | 2024 | Gil Eugenio
Bundac
● If variance is small, the
numbers are close together.
● If variance is large, the
numbers are spread out.
What is Standard Deviation?
Standard deviation (SD) is the square
root of variance. It tells us how much, Interpretation:
on average, each data point deviates
from the mean. A standard deviation of 7.91 means
that the test scores typically vary by
7.91 points from the average score of
80.
Why Do We Use Standard
Deviation?
Since variance is in squared units, it
can be difficult to interpret. Standard
deviation is in the same unit as the
original data, making it easier to
understand.