Deck 1: An Introduction to Econometrics and Statistical Inference

Question 1

What are the five steps in conducting an empirical research project? Explain each step.

Answer 1

The five steps in conducting an empirical research project are:
Step 1:Determining the Question of Interest
Step 2:Developing the Appropriate Theory Relating to the Answer
Step 3:Collecting Data That Is Appropriate For Empirically Investigating the Answer
Step 4:Implementing Appropriate Empirical Techniques,Correctly Interpreting Results,and Drawing Appropriate Conclusions
Step 5:Effectively Writing-Up a Summary of the Empirical Work

Question 2

A sampling distribution is

A)the distribution of a sample statistic such as the sample mean.
B)the normal distribution.
C)constant.
D)equal to the distribution of an individual in the sample.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What is a sampling distribution? How do you construct one? Why is it important to understand what a sampling distribution is? Explain.

Answer 3

A sampling distribution is the distribution of a sample statistic,such as the sample mean.It is constructed by drawing every possible sample of size n from the population of size N,calculating the value of a sample statistic for each sample,and placing all of those calculated values in order on a number line.It is important to understand this definition because statistics and hypothesis testing is based on principles learned from our knowledge of what sampling distributions look like.

Question 4

Sampling with replacement is

A)when a unit is drawn from a finite population,the value is recorded,and then returned to the sample.
B)a method that ensures the individuals in the sample are related to each other.
C)when a unit is drawn from a finite population,the value is recorded,and then not returned to the sample.
D)obtaining the same unit over and over when conducing a sample.

Question 5

What is an empirical research project? Why is it potentially valuable? Explain.

Question 6

What is a statistic? A parameter? How are the two related? Explain.

Question 7

What is a population? A sample? How do the two combine to form the study of statistics? Explain.

Question 8

Econometrics is

A)the study of how people chose to use scarce resources.
B)the application of statistical techniques to economic data.
C)the science of collection,organization,analysis,and interpretation of data.
D)the use of summary statistics.

Question 9

Statistical inference is

A)the process of using the population to learn about the sample.
B)based on the calculating the population parameter.
C)typically only involves calculating the variance of the point estimate.
D)the process of drawing conclusions from data that are subject to random variation.

Question 10

In econometrics,a population is

A)a large number of observations drawn from a larger number of observations.
B)typically the total number of people in a city or country.
C)a subset or part of the population and it is what is used to perform statistical inference.
D)the entire group of entities that we are interested in learning about.

Question 11

A parameter is

A)a value that fluctuates depending on the sample it is computed from.
B)a value that has constant variance.
C)a function that is computed from the sample data.
D)a function that exists within the population.

Question 12

A statistic is

A)a function that is computed from the sample data.
B)a function that exists within the population.
C)the true population parameter.
D)constant.

Question 13

Sampling without replacement is

A)ensures the individuals in the sample are independent and identically distributed.
B)when a unit is drawn from a finite population,the value is recorded,and then not returned to the sample.
C)the preferred method when drawing a sample.
D)when a unit is drawn from a finite population,the value is recorded,and then returned to the sample.

Question 14

What is statistical inference? Why is it valuable? Explain.

Question 15

In econometrics,a sample is

A)the entire group of entities that we are interested in learning about.
B)a subset or part of the population and it is what is used to perform statistical inference.
C)only one observation drawn from the population.
D)the primary thing that econometricians are interested in.

Question 16

A point estimate is

A)typically equal to the population parameter.
B)single valued statistic that is the best guess of a population parameter.
C)an interval that contains the population parameter.
D)computed from the population.