Topic 3: Methods for Describing Sets of Data
Learning Objectives
By the end of this practical lesson, students will be able to:
Understand and compute measures of central tendency (mean, median,
mode)
Understand and compute measures of variability (range, variance, standard
deviation)
Use graphical methods such as histograms, bar charts, and boxplots
Apply descriptive statistics in real-world business and economics problems
Part I: Theoretical Concepts
1. Central Tendency
Mean: The average (sum of values / number of values)
Median: The middle value when data is ordered
Mode: The most frequent value(s)
2. Dispersion (Variability)
Range = Max − Min
Variance = Average of squared deviations from the mean
Standard Deviation = Square root of variance
3. Graphical Tools
Bar Charts for categorical data
Histograms for grouped quantitative data
Boxplots to show spread and outliers
Frequency Tables & Graphs
A frequency table shows how often each value (or group of values) occurs.
Example: A business records number of sales calls per day:
Number of Calls Frequency
10–19 3
20–29 6
30–39 11
40–49 7
50–59 3
From this, we can build:
A histogram (for quantitative data)
A bar chart (for qualitative/categorical)
A pie chart (for proportions)
Measures of Central Tendency
Measure Description Formula/Explanation
Mean Arithmetic average
Median Middle value in ordered data If odd: middle; if even: avg of 2 middle
Mode Most frequent value Useful for nominal data
Measures of Dispersion
Measure Description Formula/Explanation
Simple, but ignores variability in
Range Max – Min
between
Avg squared deviation from
Variance (s²)
mean
Standard Dev
Square root of variance In same units as data
(s)
Good for spotting spread around the
IQR Q3 − Q1 (middle 50%)
median
Shape of Distribution
Symmetric: Mean ≈ Median
Right-skewed: Mean > Median (e.g., income)
Left-skewed: Mean < Median
Part II: Practical Exercises
Exercise 1: Calculate Central Tendency and Variability
Data (Weekly Sales in USD):
{210, 220, 250, 230, 240, 210, 260}
Tasks:
1. Compute the mean
2. Find the median
3. Identify the mode
4. Calculate the range
5. Compute the variance
6. Compute the standard deviation
Exercise 2: Business Inventory Example
Scenario: A shop records the number of items sold each day:
{12, 15, 17, 10, 18, 12, 20}
1. Make a frequency table
2. Create a bar chart
3. Calculate the mean, range, and standard deviation
4. Comment: Does this data suggest consistent daily performance?
Exercise 3: Graphing
Given Data (Grouped Sales Frequency):
Sales Range (USD) Frequency
100–149 3
150–199 7
200–249 10
250–299 5
300–349 2
Tasks:
Construct a histogram
Draw a boxplot using:
o Min = 100
o Q1 = 150
o Median = 200
o Q3 = 250
o Max = 320
Exercise 4: Frequency Table and Histogram
You are given the following daily sales data (in $):
[110, 130, 150, 160, 120, 130, 180, 150, 140, 170, 130, 160]
Tasks:
1. Construct a frequency table (use class width of 20)
2. Draw a histogram
3. Comment on the shape: symmetric, skewed?
Exercise 5: Central Tendency & Spread
Data (units sold by 7 staff):
[55, 60, 62, 59, 80, 61, 59]
Tasks:
1. Calculate the mean, median, and mode
2. Find the range, variance, and standard deviation
3. Comment: Is the data tightly or loosely clustered around the mean?
4.
Exercise 6: Graphical Summary
Given product satisfaction scores (1 to 5 scale):
[3, 4, 4, 2, 5, 3, 4, 5, 3, 4]
Tasks:
1. Construct a bar chart
2. Draw a boxplot manually
3. Identify any outliers using IQR method
Part III: Real-World Case Study
Mini-Case: Employee Productivity
You are the HR analyst of a tech company. You collected the number of code lines
written by 6 employees in one week:
{480, 500, 510, 490, 520, 800}
Questions:
1. Calculate the mean, median, and mode
2. Compute the standard deviation
3. Identify if there’s any outlier. If yes, how does it affect the mean?
4. What would be a better measure of central tendency here: mean or median?
Why?
Case: Retail Sales Performance
A company tracks weekly profits (in $1,000s):
[15, 18, 16, 15, 40, 17, 16]
Your Tasks:
1. Compute:
o Mean, Median, Mode
o Standard Deviation and IQR
2. Discuss:
o Is the data skewed?
o Is the mean representative of the data? Why or why not?
Paer IV: Critical Thinking Questions
1. Why might mean be misleading in the presence of extreme values (outliers)?
2. In customer service, is it more useful to look at mean waiting time or
maximum waiting time? Why?
3. When is it more helpful to use graphical summaries rather than numerical
ones?
Exercises for Self-Study
Self-Study Task A: Financial Transactions
Data:
Your online store received these order amounts in one day (USD):
{100, 120, 130, 140, 150, 180, 210}
1. Calculate:
o Mean
o Median
o Mode
o Range
o Variance
o Standard Deviation
2. Interpret the results: Is this store experiencing consistent order values?
Self-Study Task B: Summary Table
Instructions: Fill in the blanks using the data provided.
Statistic Definition Formula or Rule
Mean
Median
Mode
Range
Variance
Standard Deviation
Self-Study Task C: E-commerce Sales Data (Grouped)
Price Range ($) Frequency
0–49 5
50–99 12
100–149 20
150–199 8
200–249 5
1. Draw a histogram
2. Estimate the mean using midpoint × frequency
3. Comment on the shape of the distribution (skewed/symmetric?)
Self-Study Task D: Summary Table Completion
Fill in the missing statistics:
Data Set Mean Median Mode Range Standard Deviation
[10, 12, 14, 16, 18]
[5, 7, 7, 10, 12, 14, 14]
Self-Study Task E: Inventory Analysis
A small business records inventory sold each day:
[22, 20, 18, 20, 25, 30, 50]
1. Compute mean, median, and mode
2. Calculate the standard deviation
3. Discuss whether the median or mean better represents the typical value
Self-Study Task F: Graphing Practice
Customer complaints by category:
Complaint Type Frequency
Late Delivery 15
Defective Product 12
Bad Service 18
Wrong Item Shipped 10
Tasks:
Draw a bar chart
Calculate proportions for each type
Represent them in a pie chart
Summary
Key Concept Definition
Mean The average of all values
Median The middle value in ordered data
Mode The value that appears most frequently
Range Difference between max and min values
Variance Average squared deviation from the mean
Standard Deviation Square root of the variance – shows spread in same units