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Basic Statistical Measures Simplified Revision Notes

Revision notes with simplified explanations to understand Basic Statistical Measures quickly and effectively.

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2.1.1 Basic Statistical Measures

A measure of location in a data set (e.g., mean, median, mode, etc.) tells us things about the position of certain features of the data set (e.g., centre for mean, median, or the peak for mode). The word "average" means "measure of location," but typically refers to a measure of centrality.

Sigma Notation

The Greek letter capital Sigma ('\sum') means "sum of."

infoNote

Example 1: (2,3,7)=2+3+7=12\sum (2, 3, 7) = 2 + 3 + 7 = 12

infoNote

Example 2: If x=(2,1,4,7)x = (2, 1, 4, 7), we can say x1=2,x2=1,x3=4,x4=7x_1 = 2, x_2 = 1, x_3 = 4, x_4 = 7

i=14xi\sum_{i=1}^{4} x_i means sum all of the xx values starting with x1x_1 and finishing at x4x_4

So,i=14xi=2+1+4+7=14 \sum_{i=1}^{4} x_i = 2 + 1 + 4 + 7 = 14

infoNote

Example 3: If y=(2,7,3,4,9)y = (2, 7, 3, 4, 9)

i=35yi=3+4+9=16\sum_{i=3}^{5} y_i = 3 + 4 + 9 = 16

infoNote

Example 4: For the above yy, we say y\sum y is the sum of all y values

i.e., y=2+7+3+4+9=25\sum y = 2 + 7 + 3 + 4 + 9 = 25

Mean

The mean measures the centre of a data set and uses all data. It has the formula:

xˉ=xn\bar{x} = \frac{\sum x}{n}

where xˉ\bar{x} (pronounced x-bar) denotes the mean of xx xx represents the individual elements of the list, and nn is the length of the list.


Median

This is another measure of the centre of a data set but only uses a single data point. To find the median of a list, we:

  1. Count the length of the list and call this nn.
  2. Calculate n+12 \frac{n+1}{2}. This is the position of the median in the list.
infoNote

Example: Calculate the median of (2,3,7,12,16,1092, 3, 7, 12, 16, 109).


Given nn = 66:

n+12=72=3.5\frac{n+1}{2} = \frac{7}{2} = 3.5

This means the median is at position 3.53.5 in the list, i.e., halfway between the 3rd and 4th item.

Med=7+122=192=9.5\text{Med} = \frac{7 + 12}{2} = \frac{19}{2} = 9.5

Instructions for Mean and Median on a Calculator

Using the set (2,3,12,7,109,162, 3, 12, 7, 109, 16)

Input data ignoring freq column

image image

Comparing Median and Mean

MeanMedian
Uses all dataUses only a single point
Best when the data has no extreme outliersIgnores extreme outliers so better for such data

Measures of Spread

Interquartile Range (IQR)

To calculate the quartiles in a list of data, we follow these steps:

  1. Find the median, which divides the list in two.
  2. The LQ (Lower Quartile) is the median of the lower list, and the UQ (Upper Quartile) is the median of the upper list.
infoNote

Example: Find the quartiles of (1,7,9,12,12,15,16,19)(1, 7, 9, 12, 12, 15, 16, 19)

  • n=88+12=4.5n = 8 \rightarrow \frac{8+1}{2} = 4.5
  • Median has position 4.5.4.5.

We include this, and the median lies between positions 44 and 55:

(1,7,9,12),12,15,16,19(1, 7, 9, \underline{12}) , \underline{12}, 15, 16, 19

  • LQ=7+92=8LQ = \frac{7+9}{2} = 8
  • UQ=15+162=15.5UQ = \frac{15+16}{2} = 15.5

Note: In the case that the original list is of odd length, the two sublists are formed with the median in the middle:


Example list: (2,3,5,9,12)(2, 3, 5, 9, 12)

  • LQ = 3
  • UQ = 9

IQR Formula:

IQR=UQLQ\text{IQR} = UQ - LQ

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