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Reflection and Comprehension

The document discusses common descriptive statistics including measures of central tendency (mean and median) and measures of dispersion (standard deviation). It explains that the mean should be used if it provides a good indication of typical scores, but the median is better if there are outliers skewing the mean. Standard deviation more accurately estimates dispersion than range because outliers can exaggerate the range. Measures of central tendency and dispersion allow researchers to understand the distribution of data values and how much they vary from the center point.

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Rayver Aquino
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65 views

Reflection and Comprehension

The document discusses common descriptive statistics including measures of central tendency (mean and median) and measures of dispersion (standard deviation). It explains that the mean should be used if it provides a good indication of typical scores, but the median is better if there are outliers skewing the mean. Standard deviation more accurately estimates dispersion than range because outliers can exaggerate the range. Measures of central tendency and dispersion allow researchers to understand the distribution of data values and how much they vary from the center point.

Uploaded by

Rayver Aquino
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The three most common descriptive statistics can be display graphically or

pictorially and are measures the graphical/ pictorial methods, measures of central
tendency and measures of dispersion. The mean and median are two common measures
of central tendencies of a typical score in a sample. Which of these two should you use
when describing your data? It depends on your data. In other words, you should ask
yourself whether the measure of central tendency you have selected gives a good
indication of the typical score in your sample. If you suspect that the measure of central
tendency selected does not give a good indication of the typical score, then you most
probably have chosen the wrong one. The mean is the most frequently used measure of
central tendency and it should be used if you are satisfied that it gives a good indication
of the typical score in your sample. However, there is a problem with the mean. Since it
uses all the scores in a distribution, it is sensitive to extreme scores. Keep in mind this
characteristic when interpreting the mean obtained from a set of data. If you find that you
have an extreme score and you are unable to use the mean, then you should use the
median. The median is not sensitive to extreme scores. The reason is simply that the
median score does not depend on the actual scores themselves beyond putting them in
ascending order. Therefore, the last score in a distribution could be and the median still
would not change. This insensitivity to extreme scores makes the median useful when
you cannot use the mean. Standard deviation is a more accurate and detailed estimate of
dispersion because an outlier can greatly exaggerate the range. The standard deviation
shows the relation that a set of scores has to the mean of the sample. For instance, when
you give a test, there is bound to be variation in the scores obtained by students.
Variability, variation or dispersion is determined by the distance of a particular score
from the “norm” or measure of central tendency such as the mean.
The measures of central tendency allow researchers to determine the typical
numerical point in a set of data. The data points of any sample distributed on a range
from lowest value to the highest value. Measures of central tendency tell researchers
where the center value lies in the distribution of data. It is common to hear people
describe measures of central tendency as “the average” score or point in a particular
group because it describes what is typical, normal, usual, or representative. Although
from a statistical perspective “the average” refers to the arithmetic mean, the concept of
“average” is an easy way to think about what measures of central tendency say about
data. There are several measures of central tendency. We know that the object of
measuring dispersion is to ascertain the degree of deviation, which exist in the data, and
hence, the limits within which the data will vary in some measurable variate, attribute, or
quality. This object of dispersion is of great importance and occupies a unique position in
statistical methods. Measures of dispersion are also called averages of the ‘second order
i,e., second time averaging the deviations from a measure of central tendency. It affords
an estimate of the phenomena to which the given data relate. This will increase the
accuracy of statistical analysis and interpretation and we can be in a position to draw
inferences that are more dependable. If the original data expressed in different units,
comparisons will not be possible. However, with the help of relative measures of
dispersion, all such comparisons easily made. Accurate and dependable comparison
between the variability of two series will lead to dependable and accurate results. Thus
with the help of the study of dispersion we will not conclude that both the groups are
similar. To sum up the two statistical method are the variability or spread in a variable or
a probability distribution. They tell us how much observations in a data set vary. They
allow us to summarize our data set with a single value hence giving a more accurate
picture of our data set.

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