Sure! Here is a handout on descriptive statistics:
Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics is a branch of statistics that deals with summarizing and describing the characteristics of a dataset. It provides a way to organize and present data in a meaningful way, allowing researchers to understand the underlying patterns and trends within the data.
Types of Descriptive Statistics:
1. Measures of Central Tendency:
- Mean: The average of a set of numbers. For example, the mean of 2, 4, and 6 is (2+4+6)/3 = 4.
- Median: The middle value in a dataset when the values are arranged in ascending order. For example, the median of 2, 4, and 6 is 4.
- Mode: The most frequently occurring value in a dataset. For example, the mode of 2, 4, 4, and 6 is 4.
2. Measures of Dispersion:
- Range: The difference between the maximum and minimum values in a dataset. For example, the range of 2, 4, and 6 is 6-2 = 4.
- Variance: The average of the squared differences between each data point and the mean.
- Standard Deviation: The square root of the variance. It measures the spread of data around the mean.
3. Measures of Shape:
- Skewness: A measure of the asymmetry of a distribution. A positive skew indicates a longer tail on the right side, while a negative skew indicates a longer tail on the left side.
- Kurtosis: A measure of the peakedness or flatness of a distribution. A higher kurtosis indicates a sharper peak.
Examples:
1. Consider the following dataset: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
- Mean: (2+4+6+8+10)/5 = 6
- Median: 6
- Mode: There is no mode as all values occur only once.
- Range: 10-2 = 8
- Variance: ((2-6)^2 + (4-6)^2 + (6-6)^2 + (8-6)^2 + (10-6)^2)/5 = 8
- Standard Deviation: √8 ≈ 2.83
2. Consider the following dataset: 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7
- Mean: (1+2+2+3+4+5+5+5+6+7)/10 = 4
- Median: 4
- Mode: 5
- Range: 7-1 = 6
- Variance: ((1-4)^2 + (2-4)^2 + (2-4)^2 + (3-4)^2 + (4-4)^2 + (5-4)^2 + (5-4)^2 + (5-4)^2 + (6-4)^2 + (7-4)^2)/10 ≈ 3.56
- Standard Deviation: √3.56 ≈ 1.89
References:
1. Agresti, A., & Franklin, C. (2018). Statistics: The Art and Science of Learning from Data. Pearson.
2. Field, A. (2013). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics. Sage Publications.
3. Trochim, W. M. (2006). Research Methods: The Concise Knowledge Base. Atomic Dog Publishing.