Unit 4 sec 3.1 Summarizing data: Location and scanning data

Unit 4 sec 3.1  Summarizing data: Location and scanning data

22 November 2015

15:11

In particular, in this section you will look at simple summary measures of what statisticians often call a location of dataset, that is a single number that represents an “average”, typical or central value.

A statement that describes whereabouts lies is a way of describing the dataset’s location.

ª    Summarising the set of data values by a single number that might be thought of as an “average” or “typical” or “central” value.

ª    Comparing sets of data values on basis of their locations, to see which set of tends to have bigger values.

Measuring language

What do people understand in words “possible” and “probable”?

Or more specifically

What numerical values to people attribute to words “possible” and “probable”?

Notice that these are paired data in the sense that each “pair” corresponds to the response of particular students.

Before performing a detailed analysis of any data set, it is always a good idea to scan the data, looking closely at the numbers to see if any patterns or anomalies stand out.