GAT GAT Research and Data Analysis 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which term describes the difference between the highest and lowest values in a dataset?
- Mean
- Variance
- Range (Correct answer)
- Standard deviation
Correct answer: Range
The range is calculated by subtracting the minimum value from the maximum value in a dataset.
Question 2: In a GAT passage, a researcher states that a study has 'high internal validity.' This means the study:
- Can be generalized to a large population
- Accurately measures the cause-and-effect relationship it intended to study (Correct answer)
- Was conducted over a long time period
- Used a very large sample size
Correct answer: Accurately measures the cause-and-effect relationship it intended to study
Internal validity refers to the degree to which a study accurately establishes that changes in one variable cause changes in another, controlling for confounds.
Question 3: A line graph shows a steady upward trend from 2018 to 2023. Which conclusion is BEST supported?
- The value will definitely continue rising after 2023
- The value increased consistently over the observed period (Correct answer)
- The value peaked in 2020
- The data contains no variability
Correct answer: The value increased consistently over the observed period
A line graph can only directly support conclusions about the period shown; the steady upward trend confirms consistent growth during 2018–2023.
Question 4: Which of the following is a PRIMARY source of data for a research project?
- A textbook chapter summarizing prior studies
- An encyclopedia entry about a topic
- A survey you design and administer yourself (Correct answer)
- A news article reporting on a study
Correct answer: A survey you design and administer yourself
A primary source is original, firsthand data collected directly by the researcher, such as a survey, experiment, or interview.
Question 5: In a frequency table, the column labeled 'relative frequency' shows:
- The raw count for each category
- Each category's count as a proportion of the total (Correct answer)
- The cumulative total across categories
- The rank order of categories
Correct answer: Each category's count as a proportion of the total
Relative frequency expresses each category's count as a proportion (or percentage) of the overall total, enabling comparisons across groups.
Question 6: Which statistical concept describes how spread out values are from the mean of a dataset?
- Mode
- Median
- Standard deviation (Correct answer)
- Frequency
Correct answer: Standard deviation
Standard deviation quantifies the average distance of each data point from the mean, indicating how dispersed the data is.
GAT GAT Research and Data Analysis 2
Which term describes the difference between the highest and lowest values in a dataset?