Remember that you can only “prove” that one variable “causes” another by using an experiment. Be skeptical of observational studies that claim causation.

 

Using the data set that you created for the Week 1 Discussion, we will look at descriptive statistics in the week’s discussion. We will look at the measures of center, mean median, and mode, and the measures of variability, variance, standard deviation and range. In addition, we will look at the shape of the data distribution (skew).

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the following resources:

Discussion Resources (click to expand/reduce)

• You may need to modify the data set you created for the Week 1 Discussion.  You will need to have two quantitative variables that are related for which you will find the mean, median, variance, and standard deviation. If you need to add a variable to your scenario, explain what it is, add it to your data set, and post it in your Discussion.

Example (click to expand/reduce)

• Review the rubric that will be used for grading.

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 1

By the end of Day 1, you can post your scenario and data for your Instructor to review. If you do not submit this by the end of Day 1, you will need to proceed to submit the entire Discussion on Day 3.

By Day 3

Post a 2- to 3-paragraph response that includes the following information:

• Your data set including any modifications, if necessary. 
• The mean, median, variance, and standard deviation calculations for your quantitative variables from Statdisk. You will want to paste these into your Discussion and cite these as evidence in the next parts of the Discussion.
• Discuss the measure of center for the data by comparing the mean and median of the two variables and write a conclusion sentence about the results. For your data set, would the mean or median be the best measure of center and why?
• Discuss the measure of variability for the variables by comparing either the variance or standard deviation and write a conclusion about the results. What do your results tell you about the spread of the data?
• Discuss the shape of the distribution for the two variables (left skew, right skew, symmetrical) supported with data. Look at the graphic on page 130 in the textbook. In addition to the results from Statdisk, you might want to create a histogram to show the skew for the variables.
• Post what you found most interesting in this week’s Discussion and why you found it interesting. Was it a topic that would apply to your degree field?