Descriptive Statistics Quizzes for Educational Research Doctorate

Question 1

A researcher wants to describe the typical score on a standardized test for a group of students. Which measure of central tendency would be most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Mean

Answer

Median

Answer

Mode

Answer

Range

Question 2

A study reports that the standard deviation of student scores on a reading comprehension test is 5. What does this indicate?

Accepted Answer

The average distance of scores from the mean is 5 points.

Answer

The highest score is 5 points above the mean.

Answer

The lowest score is 5 points below the mean.

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a normal distribution?

Accepted Answer

Skewness

Answer

Mean, median, and mode are equal

Answer

Symmetrical

Answer

Bell-shaped curve

Question 4

A researcher wants to determine the variability of student performance on a new teaching method. Which measure of variability would be most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Standard deviation

Answer

Mean

Answer

Median

Question 5

A distribution with a long tail to the right is considered:

Accepted Answer

Positively skewed

Answer

Normal

Answer

Negatively skewed

Answer

Bimodal

Question 6

A researcher finds that the mean score on a standardized test is 75 and the standard deviation is 10. What percentage of scores would be expected to fall within one standard deviation of the mean?

Accepted Answer

68%

Answer

34%

Answer

99.7%

Answer

95%

Question 7

Which of the following is a measure of the spread or dispersion of data?

Accepted Answer

Variance

Answer

Mode

Answer

Mean

Answer

Median

Question 8

A researcher finds that the mean score on a test is 80, and the median score is 75. What can be inferred about the distribution of scores?

Accepted Answer

The distribution is likely skewed to the right.

Answer

There is not enough information to determine the skewness.

Answer

The distribution is likely normal.

Answer

The distribution is likely skewed to the left.

Question 9

Which of the following measures of central tendency is most affected by outliers?

Accepted Answer

Mean

Answer

Mode

Answer

Range

Answer

Median

Question 10

A researcher wants to describe the shape of the distribution of student scores on a creativity test. Which graphical representation would be most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Histogram

Answer

Pie chart

Answer

Bar chart

Question 11

Calculate the mean of the following numbers: 10, 15, 20, 25, 30.

Accepted Answer

20

Answer

25

Answer

15

Answer

30

Question 12

Which measure of variability represents the average distance of data points from the mean?

Accepted Answer

Standard deviation

Answer

Range

Answer

Percentile rank

Answer

Variance

Question 13

Consider the following data: 5, 7, 9, 11, 13. What is the range?

Accepted Answer

8

Answer

13

Answer

5

Answer

18

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT a measure of distribution?

Accepted Answer

Mean

Answer

Standard deviation

Answer

Skewness

Answer

Kurtosis

Question 15

A histogram is used to represent the distribution of:

Accepted Answer

Continuous data

Answer

All of the above

Answer

Ordinal data

Answer

Categorical data

Question 16

Which of the following is a limitation of descriptive statistics?

Accepted Answer

They only describe the data, not infer conclusions

Answer

They can be used to test hypotheses

Answer

They can be used to generalize to a larger population

Answer

They are easy to interpret

Question 17

When the mean is greater than the median, the distribution is said to be:

Accepted Answer

Positively skewed

Answer

Symmetrical

Answer

Negatively skewed

Question 18

Which of the following is a measure of kurtosis?

Accepted Answer

Excess kurtosis

Answer

Standard deviation

Answer

Skewness

Answer

Range

Question 19

Descriptive statistics are commonly used for:

Accepted Answer

Summarizing and describing educational data

Answer

Making inferences about a population

Answer

Testing hypotheses

Answer

Advanced statistical modeling

Question 20

Which measure of central tendency is the sum of all values divided by the number of values in a dataset?

Accepted Answer

Mean

Answer

Mode

Answer

Median

Question 21

Which measure of variability indicates the spread of values around the mean?

Accepted Answer

Standard deviation

Answer

Interquartile range

Answer

Variance

Answer

Coefficient of variation

Question 22

Which type of distribution is characterized by a bell-shaped curve?

Accepted Answer

Normal distribution

Answer

Symmetric distribution

Answer

Kurtosis distribution

Answer

Skewed distribution

Question 23

What is the purpose of calculating the mean?

Accepted Answer

To find the typical value in a dataset

Answer

To analyze the distribution of values

Answer

To determine the smallest value

Answer

To identify the most frequent value

Question 24

Which measure of skewness indicates a distribution with more values on the left side?

Accepted Answer

Negative skewness

Answer

Asymmetric skewness

Answer

Positive skewness

Answer

Zero skewness

Question 25

What is the role of frequency in descriptive statistics?

Accepted Answer

To indicate the number of times a value occurs in a dataset

Answer

To determine the mean of a dataset

Answer

To identify outliers

Question 26

Which measure of variability is used to compare the spread of two datasets with different means?

Accepted Answer

Coefficient of variation

Answer

Standard deviation

Answer

Range

Answer

Interquartile range

Question 27

What is the purpose of outlier analysis in descriptive statistics?

Accepted Answer

To identify values that deviate significantly from the rest of the data

Answer

To determine the skewness of a dataset

Answer

To calculate the mean of a dataset

Question 28

Which type of data is most appropriate for descriptive statistics?

Accepted Answer

Quantitative data

Answer

Qualitative data

Answer

Nominal data

Answer

Categorical data

Question 29

What is the primary goal of descriptive statistics in educational research?

Accepted Answer

To summarize and describe educational data

Answer

To test hypotheses

Answer

To make inferences about a population