March 4, 2007
Hello Class,
This week we spent some time dealing with descriptive statistics and some inferential statistics. This week week we discussed;
Measures of Central Tendency
Mean
Median
Mode
Measures of Dispersion
Range
Standard Deviation
The Normal Curve
.34
.14
.02
In class we discussed how sometimes it is better to discuss the median or mode of data instead of the mean. For example, when discussing the average college graduates' income, we might want to discuss the median because outliers (such as professional athletes) would skew the mean. Can you think of other examples where we would want to discuss the median or mode instead of the mean?
This week we spent some time dealing with descriptive statistics and some inferential statistics. This week week we discussed;
Measures of Central Tendency
Mean
Median
Mode
Measures of Dispersion
Range
Standard Deviation
The Normal Curve
.34
.14
.02
In class we discussed how sometimes it is better to discuss the median or mode of data instead of the mean. For example, when discussing the average college graduates' income, we might want to discuss the median because outliers (such as professional athletes) would skew the mean. Can you think of other examples where we would want to discuss the median or mode instead of the mean?
posted by Dr. Jeffrey Bolt at 5:03 PM
10 Comments:
Another example of when you would want to discuss the median or mode instead of the mean would be for a test. Most of the student might have failed but a couple might have gotten 100%'s. If more students are failing than passing something should probably be re-taught.
-Maria Reynolds
Another example where using the mean could throw off your average is when figuring out the average price of gas is in your city. There always seams to be one station that has an abnormally high price and that could throw off your mean...The median or mode may work out better for finding the average.
-Dan Broughton
Another example where you would want to use the median or mode instead of the mean would be the average age of Kent, Ohio resident. There are middle-aged to senior citizens living in the area however there are also a great amount of college students which would throw off the mean with so many younger ages.
-Ally Tylka
Another example where median or mode would be more appropriate than mean could be the average ammount of money spent on food each day. One night you might decide to go out to a really expensive dinner and that would definitely throw off the average.
-Dave Welner
Another example where an individual would want to use the median or mode instead of mean would be for finding out the average household income. Doctors and professional athletes are going to make more then someone that works at McDonalds or Burger King.
Jamie Piero
Another example of when one would want to use the median or mode instead of the mean would be gas consumed in a day in the state of Ohio by individuals. Many people only drive a short distance to work, or an hour or so. But, if one is to watch the news they talk about some people that commute almost four hours to work! That would be an outlier, therefore, skewing the results.
-Morgan Galloway
An example of when you would not want to use the mean is when you are trying to figure out how much to spend on a present for say, a company gift exchange that has no price limit. Maybe someone goes above and beyond and spends $100 on their "secret santa" or something but then another person may spend only $10. The average may only be $25 but those two high and low numbers could really throw off the average.
-Lauren Panik
another example of where you'd want to use the median or mode is if you are studying how much food the average american eats in a day. If the study is being conducted during the holidays, people usually eat more food around those times than in their normal days, and the mean could be skewed by the difference.
An example of when you wouild want to discuss the median or mode instead of the mean for a test would be when trying to figure out the average property value in Kent. The property value for houses in Kent Parks are going to be significantly lower than those in RiverBend, etc. While we could find a possible average, the upscale properties in Kent would throw this off.
Shay Smith
An example of when you might want to use the median or mode instead of the mean would to figure out how much kent state students typically spend on their cars. Most college students drive reasonably priced cars, but nothing great. But, there are always outliers who are driving around cherry red convertables worth 60grand. In this case some studnets would throw off the average.
Brock Busson
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