This page would contain resource information like a glossary of terms from the section, key equations, and a reminder of concepts that were covered.
Essential Concepts
- Quantitative variables have distinguishing features placing individuals into one of several groups based on a numerical value such as height, cost, exam scores, and temperature. The data from these variables can be displayed in multiple ways.
- Quantitative variables have data observations that can be added, averaged, and have a minimum and maximum value identified.
- Some features of a distribution are more apparent in some graphical displays than others. This also explains why some questions can be better answered in some graphical displays than others.
- A sample is representative of a population if its characteristics tend to match the characteristics of the population. If this is not the case, a generalization of the population cannot be made from the sample.
Glossary
- dotplot
- a graphical display for quantitative data where each dot represents an observation.
- histogram
- a graphical display that groups observations into bins rather than having a single dot for each observation.
- bin
- a range of values that the quantitative variable can take.
- endpoints
- the smallest and largest values of the quantitative variable represented in the bin.
- width
- a numerical value that is calculated by the difference in the values of the end points.
- population
- the group of individuals or entities that our research or survey questions pertain to.
- sample
- a group of individuals or entities on which we collect data.
- representative
- when the characteristics of a sample tend to match the characteristics of the population.
- generalize
- when the sample is representative of the population, this transfers our analysis of the sample to the population.
Put formal DCMP I Can statements to prepare for the self-check.
These I Can Statements are new (the first three are the “you will understand” rephrased as an I Can):
- I can visualize the distribution of a quantitative variable in multiple ways.
- I can identify the features of a distribution that are more apparent in some graphical displays than in others.
- I can identify the questions that can be better answered in some graphical displays than others.
- I can identify and create appropriate graphical displays to visualize the distribution of quantitative variables.
- I can compare and contrast features present in each graphical display.
- I can identify the most useful graphical display(s) to answer a given research question.
