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Statistics lecture 3. Bell-Shaped Curves and Other Shapes. Goals for lecture 3. Realize many measurements in nature follow a bell-shaped (“normal”) curve Understand and learn to compute a standardized score Learn to find the proportion of the population that falls into a given range
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Statistics lecture 3 Bell-Shaped Curves and Other Shapes
Goals for lecture 3 • Realize many measurements in nature follow a bell-shaped (“normal”) curve • Understand and learn to compute a standardized score • Learn to find the proportion of the population that falls into a given range • Memorize the Empirical Rule
Remember? • Mean(average): Sum of the values divided by the number of values • Standard deviation: A measure of how spread out the values are. Think of it as the “average distance” of all values from the mean.
mean Some Characteristics of a Normal Distribution • Symmetrical (not skewed) • One peak in the middle, at the mean • The wider the curve, the greater the standard deviation • Area under the curve is 1 (or 100%)
Why it looks like that With many things in nature, most individuals fall near the average. The farther you move above or below the average, the fewer individuals there are with those extreme values. Examples: Height, weight, IQ, pulse rate
Normal Curve... If you know these two things: • The Mean • The Standard Deviation ...
...Normal Curve ...you can figure these things: • The proportion of individuals who fall into any range of values • The percentile of any given value • The value of any given percentile
Percentiles Your percentilefor a particular measure (like height or IQ) is the percentage of the population that falls belowyou. In one of my recent classes: • My height (183 cm): 89th percentile • My weight (104 kg): 99th percentile • My age (62): 99th percentile
Standardized Scores A standardized score(also called the z-score) is simply the number of standard deviations a particular value is either above or below the mean. The standardized score is: • Positive if above the mean • Negative if below the mean
Standardized Score Examples Class height: Mean 170 cm, StdDev: 10 cm. What is the z-score of someone: • 160 cm • 180 cm • 175 cm • 150 cm • 170 cm • 145 cm
Calculate z-score for a Particular Value z-score = (Value - mean) / StdDev 185 cm : (185 – 170) / 10 = 15 / 10 = +1.5 165 cm: (165 - 170) / 10 = -5 / 10 = -0.5 180 cm: (180 - 170) / 10 = 10 / 10 = +1.0
What’s the Point? • With z-score or percentile, you can compare unlike things. For instance, I am heavier (99th pctile) than I am tall (89th pctile). • With a z-score, you can look up the percentile in a table or an online calculator
The Empirical Rule For any normal curve, approximately: • 68% of values within one StdDevof the mean • 95% of values within two StdDevsof the mean • 99.7% of values within three StdDevsof the mean
Outlier • A value that is more than three standard deviations above or below the mean.
Apply Empirical Ruleto Class Height Class height: Mean 170 cm., StdDev 10 cm. • About 68% of class is between what heights? 160 cm and 180 inches (+/- 10 cm) • About 95% of class is between what heights? 150 inches and 190 inches (+/- 20 cm)
Data visualization goals • See different ways of graphically displaying data. • Learn the features of a good statistical picture. • Be able to identify common problems with graphs and plots. • Learn to read graphs comprehensively.
Why do we turn data into graphics? • Easier to understand • Easier to see the trends • A good graphic will convey the same message you would get if you really studied the data “Graphics reveal data.” -- Edward Tufte
Two kinds of variables • Categorical: Data that can be counted in categories, such as gender or race • Measurement:Data that can be recorded as a number and then put into order, such as IQ, weight, cigarettes smoked per day, etc.
Pictures ofCategorical Data Three common types of graphics for categorical data: • Pie charts • Bar graphs • Pictograms
37% 63% Pie Charts • Good for showing one categorical variable, like gender • Show the percentage that falls into each category Women Men
Bar Graphs • Can show two or more categorical variables simultaneously (for example, height and gender)
Pictograms A B C D F • Height of pictures is used like bars number grades
Pictograms can be misleading • We tend to focus on the area, rather than just the height
Pictograms can be misleading • To be fair, you should keep the width of pictograms the same
Pictures ofMeasurement Data Lots of ways to illustrate measurement variables: • Stemplots and histograms (lecture 2) • Line graphs (also called fever charts) • Scatter plots • Others: Area, radar, doughnut, high-low-close, surface plots, maps, et al.
Stemplots 19 | 5 9 20 | 1 1 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7 7 8 21 | 0 1 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 5 8 8 8 9 9 22 | 0 2 2 2 5 6 7 9 23 | 0 2 2 3 5 5 24 | 4 6 7 7 9 9 25 | 1 7
Scatter Plot • Good for displaying the relationship between twomeasurement variables
Scatter Plot Doig
Scatter Plot Doig
Difficulties and Disasters Most common problems: • No labeling on one or more axes • Not starting at zero • Changes in labeling on axes • Misleading units • Graphs based on poor information
Checklist for Statistical Pictures 1. Does the message clearly stand out? 2. Is the purpose or title evident? 3. Is a source given for the data? 4. Did the data come from a reliable, believable source? 5. Is everything labeled clearly and unambiguously?
Checklist for Statistical Pictures 6. Do the axes start at zero? 7. Do the axes maintain a constant scale? 8. Are there breaks in the numbers on the axes that may be easy to miss? 9. Have financial numbers been adjusted for inflation? 10. Is there extraneous information cluttering the picture or misleading the eye?