Statistics, Graphs and Examples

What you need to support your

“must knows”
 Measures of Central Tendency
• Mean: Average; sum divided by number of
measurements in a data set
• Median: Middle number in a data set
• Mode: Most frequently occurring number
in a data set
 X-Y Scatterplot

• Graph used to determine the relationship

between two variables
• Relationship may be positive, negative or
non-existent
• Correlation does not mean causation!!!
 Year 2000 - Burlington VT
Relationship Between Snowfall and
Temperature
Snowfall in inches

40
30
20
10
0
0 20 40 60 80
Temperature in degrees F
 Bar Graph
• Histogram
• Graph used to show frequencies on the Y
axis and characteristics on the X axis
• Used for discrete data
 Suspected Nuclear Weapons

18000
15500
16000 15000

14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000 482 410 200 100 60 20
0

l
a

ia
a

an
s

m
ce

e
si

in
te

ra

d
do
an

st
s

Ch

In
a

Is
Ru
St

ki
ng
Fr

Pa
d

Ki
ite

d
Un

ite
Un

Source: Center for Defense Information

 Line Graph
• Graph used to plot continuous data over
time
• X axis contains timeline, Y axis shows
frequencies
 NYC Handwashing 1992- 1997

40
Percentage wasing hands

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
 Pie Chart
• Graph used to show percentage of a
meaningful whole
 American Car Colors
Year 2000 Silver

White

Black
18%
29% Green

Blue

17% Red
7% Other
9% 9% 11%
Source: Dupont Auto Color Survey
 According to the Experts...
• Fonts with serifs are easier to read in print
• Fonts sans serif are easier to read when
projected
 Read Carefully...
• Random is not the
same as a sample
• Be suspicious of
research sponsored by
a product supplier
• Celebrities often know
little about their causes
 In general…
• Use data from careful research and
sampling polls
• Telling stories is useful to provide a
personal touch
• It’s OK to give Personal opinion
• Use Internet research from a credible site
• Journals are preferable to popular
periodicals
 And, don’t forget...
• Know your subject
• Know your audience