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Chapter 4

Chapter 4 discusses the concepts of average and standard deviation as tools for summarizing data, focusing on the center and spread of distributions. It explains how to calculate the average using an example of student grades and highlights the importance of distinguishing between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Key concepts include the average, median, standard deviation, and interquartile range as measures of data summary.

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7 views6 pages

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 discusses the concepts of average and standard deviation as tools for summarizing data, focusing on the center and spread of distributions. It explains how to calculate the average using an example of student grades and highlights the importance of distinguishing between cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Key concepts include the average, median, standard deviation, and interquartile range as measures of data summary.

Uploaded by

taylorywang0
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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 4 - The Average and Standard Deviation

Back to Table of Content.


Sample question:

What percentage of users in the age group


25-34 have blood pressure greater than 145
mm?

Answer: For age group 25-34, the user


column with blood pressure greater than
145 mm are: 140-150 has 2%, 150-155 has
1%, 155-160 has 1%. In total, we have 2% +
1% + 1% = 4%.
Recall the last chapter, we discussed histogram, which is a good tool
to help us summarize data.

In this chapter, we introduce an even more drastic summary, which is


based on the idea of the center of the histogram and the spread
around the center.

Here the words “center” and “spread” are ordinary words here without
any special technical definition.
The object of this section is to review the average. For example,
suppose a class has 5 students and the midterm grades for the 5
students are 80, 70, 90, 80, 50, respectively.

The average of the midterm grade for all 5 students is computed as


the summation of all their grades divided by the number of students.
Hence, we can write (80 + 70 + 90 + 80 + 50)/5 = 370/5 = 74. Thus,
we say the average midterm grade is 74.
Key concepts: average.

The average is often used to find the center, and so is the median.
The standard deviation measures the spread around the average.
The interquartile range is another measure of spread.
The average is a powerful way of summarizing data.

In a cross-sectional study, different subjects are compared to each


other at one point in time.

In a longitudinal study, subjects are followed over time, and


compared with themselves at different points in time.

Remark: It is important to find out whether the data are


cross-sectional or longitudinal when the study draws conclusions
about the effects of age.

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