Introduction to Bayesian Statistics (Bolstad/Bayesian Statistics) || Displaying and Summarizing Data

✍ Scribed by Bolstad, William M.

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 369 KB
• Edition: 1
• Category: Article
• ISBN: 0471270202
• DOI: 10.1002/047172212x.ch3

✦ Synopsis

We use statistical methods to extract information from data and gain insight into the underlying process that generated the data. Frequently our data set consists of measurements on one or more variables over the experimental units in one or more samples. The distribution of the numbers in the sample will give us insight into the distribution of the numbers for the whole population.

It is very difficult to gain much understanding by looking at a set of numbers. Our brains were not designed for that. We need to find ways to present the data that allow us to note the important features of the data. The visual processing system in our brain enables us to quickly perceive the overview we want, when the data are represented pictorially in a sensible way. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That is true, provided the we have the correct picture. If the picture is incorrect, we can mislead ourselves and others very badly!

3.1 GRAPHICALLY DISPLAYING A SINGLE VARIABLE

Often our data set consists of a set of measurements on a single variable for a single sample of subjects or experimental units. We want to get some insight into the distribution of the measurements of the whole population. A visual display of the measurements of the sample helps with this.