Practice Test Geeks(CSP) Certified Sociological Practitioner Practice Test
← All CSP Flashcard Decks

Quantitative Research & Statistics Flashcards

7 cards from real CSP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Quantitative Research & Statistics flashcards as text

  1. A researcher finds a Pearson r of 0.85 between hours studied and exam scores. What does this indicate?

    Answer: A strong positive linear relationship

    A Pearson r of 0.85 indicates a strong positive linear relationship, meaning as hours studied increase, exam scores tend to increase substantially.

  2. Which measure of central tendency is most appropriate when data contains extreme outliers?

    Answer: Median

    The median is most appropriate with outliers because it is not affected by extreme values, unlike the mean which gets pulled toward outliers.

  3. In a multiple regression analysis, what does the R-squared value represent?

    Answer: The proportion of variance in the dependent variable explained by predictors

    R-squared (coefficient of determination) represents the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that is explained by the independent variables in the model.

  4. A sociologist uses a Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). This scale produces which level of measurement?

    Answer: Ordinal

    Likert scales produce ordinal data because responses have a meaningful rank order, but the intervals between response categories are not necessarily equal.

  5. What is the primary purpose of conducting a factor analysis in sociological research?

    Answer: To identify underlying dimensions among a set of observed variables

    Factor analysis identifies latent constructs or underlying dimensions that explain patterns of correlations among multiple observed variables.

  6. When a researcher increases sample size while keeping all else constant, what happens to the standard error of the mean?

    Answer: It decreases

    Standard error decreases as sample size increases because SE = σ/√n, so larger n produces a smaller denominator and thus a smaller SE.

  7. A chi-square test of independence is used to determine whether:

    Answer: Two categorical variables are associated in the population

    The chi-square test of independence assesses whether there is a statistically significant association between two categorical variables.