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Chapter 3 Slides #1 Shape and Location
Chapter 3 Slides #1 Shape and Location
Chapter 3 Slides #1 Shape and Location
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
Learning Goals
Shape (Skewness, symmetry, modality)
Location (mean, median, mode)
Variability/Spread (variance, standard deviation, range, IQR)
Relative Location (z-score)
Empirical Rule and Chebyshev’s Theorem
Boxplots
Outliers
Descriptive Statistics
The purpose of descriptive statistics is to convert data into
information using meaningful charts (graphs) and numerical
reports.
Do not see these aspects as separate; they complement each other. But at
the same time, treating them one at a time help you see things better.
1) Shape of data
To understand shape of your data, display its HISTOGRAM
which is simply a graphical summary of the data.
Most statistical software can automatically generate
histograms.
Although you may also create histograms in Excel, you need
to do several formatting to make it look right. So, to save
time and for brevity, we will always provide software
generated histograms when needed.
What to look for in a
histogram
When trying to understanding shape of your data, look for
these key features:
1) Symmetry
2) Skewness
3) Modality
Suppose we extend the previous data by one more observation which has a
value of 4.
Then, we will have odd number of data points (11)
DATA: 4,2,3,3,2,2,1,4,3,2
Mode = 2
Can also use Descriptive Statistics Option from Data Analysis in the
Tools Menu
=AVERAGE(A2:A11)
=MEDIAN(A2:A11)
=MODE(A2:A11)
Check
Labels
Enter Name of
Output Worksheet
Check both:
Summary Statistics
Confidence Level
Drag to make
Column A wider
Sample Mean
Sample Median
Sample Mode
Which location measure to
use?
This depends on the SHAPE of your data.
When the histogram is unimodal and symmetric, all the location measures
are close to each other and use of mean is recommended due to its simplicity.
A) 900,000
B) 350,000
Can you tell which is more likely the mean and which is median?
VIDEO is available on
skewness, mean and median
On Titanium, an exercise video is available.
VIDEO: Mean and Median
Please watch video immediately after this section
has been covered in class.