How to Display Data

Displaying the data allows us to visualize what the relationships between our variables are before we engage in more formal statistical procedures (such as hypothesis tests and confidence intervals). At times, what you observe in these visuals may direct you to one statistical procedure as opposed to another (or lead you to ask a statistician for assistance picking an appropriate procedure). Visualizing the data can also give you a sense of whether you have any unusual data points.

Data Displays

We want to use appropriate visual displays for our data – this includes charts/tables and graphs. Here, we look at some example graphs and when they are used.

Types of Variables

Categorical For a categorical variable, observations fall into distinct groups. For instance, if we are interested in comparing growth rate of purple finch chicks on Cape Cod vs. the Pioneer Valley. The location is a categorical variable, and the possible values (the categories) for location are Cape Cod and Pioneer Valley. Other examples could include…

Formatting Graphs

After completing your graphs, you will edit the appearance to get it in the appropriate format. Excel Click on “Chart Title”. Delete the “Chart Title”. Recall that the description of your figure will go in your figure caption. Label the axes. Click on “Add Chart Element” Select “Axis Titles” Pick Horizontal and then type in…

Types of graphs

The following is a list of graphs that we will be using in this course. Scatter plot Use to display a numeric response variable with a numeric predictor variable. You may include different categories within your data. For instance, perhaps you want to look at the dispersal distance of black bears over time, with time…