Unit Two

Descriptive Biostatistics
Dr Mahmoud Alhussami
Biostatistics
What is the biostatistics? A branch of
applied math. that deals with collecting,
organizing and interpreting data using
well-defined procedures.
Types of Biostatistics:
Descriptive Statistics. It involves organizing,
summarizing & displaying data to make them
more understandable.
Inferential Statistics. It reports the degree of
confidence of the sample statistic that predicts
the value of the population parameter.
Descriptive Biostatistics
The best way to work with data is to
summarize and organize them.
Numbers that have not been summarized
and organized are called raw data.

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Definition
Data is any type of information
Raw data is a data collected as they
receive.
Organize data is data organized either in
ascending, descending or in a grouped
data.

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Descriptive Measures
A descriptive measure is a
single number that is used to
describe a set of data.
Descriptive measures include
measures of central tendency
and measures of dispersion.

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Descriptive Measures
Measures of Location
Measures of central tendency: Mean; Median; Mode
Measures of noncentral tendency - Quantiles
Quartiles; Quintiles; Percentiles
Measures of Dispersion
Range
Interquartile range
Variance
Standard Deviation
Coefficient of Variation
Measures of Shape
Mean > Median-positive or right Skewness
Mean = Median- symmetric or zero Skewness
Mean < Median-Negative of left Skewness
Measures of Location
It is a property of the data that they tend to be clustered
about a center point.
Measures of central tendency (i.e., central location) help
find the approximate center of the dataset.
Researchers usually do not use the term average,
because there are three alternative types of average.
These include the mean, the median, and the mode. In a
perfect world, the mean, median & mode would be the
same.
mean (generally not part of the data set)

median (may be part of the data set)

mode (always part of the data set)

8


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General Formula--Population Mean

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Notes on Sample Mean X
n
Formula
X

i
X i1
n
Summation Sign
In the formula to find the mean, we use the summation sign
This is just mathematical shorthand for add up all of the observations

X
i1
i X 1 X 2 X 3 ....... X n

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Notes on Sample Mean
Also called sample average or arithmetic
mean
Mean for the sample = X or M, Mean for
population = mew ()
Uniqueness: For a given set of data
there is one and only one mean.
Simplicity: The mean is easy to
calculate.
Sensitive to extreme values

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 The median is the middle value of the ordered data
To get the median, we must first rearrange the
data into an ordered array (in ascending or
descending order). Generally, we order the data
from the lowest value to the highest value.
Therefore, the median is the data value such that
half of the observations are larger and half are
smaller. It is also the 50th percentile.
Ifn is odd, the median is the middle observation of
the ordered array. If n is even, it is midway
between the two central observations.

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Example: 0 2 3 5 20 99 100

Note: Data has been ordered from lowest to highest. Since n is

odd (n=7), the median is the (n+1)/2 ordered observation, or the
4th observation.
Answer: The median is 5.

The mean and the median are unique for a given set
of data. There will be exactly one mean and one
median.

Unlike the mean, the median is not affected by

extreme values.
Q: What happens to the median if we change the 100 to 5,000?
Not a thing, the median will still be 5. Five is still the middle
value of the data set.

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 10 20 30 40 50 60
Example:

Note: Data has been ordered from lowest to highest.

Since n is even (n=6), the median is the (n+1)/2
ordered observation, or the 3.5th observation, i.e., the
average of observation 3 and observation 4.

Answer: The median is 35.

Descriptive Statistics I 16


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Mean vs. Median
Advantage: The median is less affected by extreme
values.
Disadvantage:
The median takes no account of the precise magnitude of
most of the observations and is therefore less efficient
than the mean
If two groups of data are pooled the median of the
combined group can not be expressed in terms of the
medians of the two original groups but the sample mean
can.
n1 x1 n2 x2
x pooled
n1 n2

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19
 The mode is the value of the data that occurs
with the greatest frequency.
Unstable index: values of modes tend to
fluctuate from one sample to another drawn
from the same population
Example. 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Answer. The mode is 1 since it occurs three times. The
other values each appear only once in the data set.
Example. 5, 5, 5, 6, 8, 10, 10, 10.
Answer. The mode is: 5, 10.
There are two modes. This is a bi-modal dataset.

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 The mode is different from the mean and the
median in that those measures always exist
and are always unique. For any numeric data
set there will be one mean and one median.
The mode may not exist.
Data: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0
Here you have 10 observations and they are all
different.
The mode may not be unique.
Data:0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7
Mode = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. There are six
modes.

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Comparison of the Mode, the Median,
and the Mean
In a normal distribution, the mode , the median,
and the mean have the same value.
The mean is the widely reported index of central
tendency for variables measured on an interval
and ratio scale.
The mean takes each and every score into
account.
It also the most stable index of central tendency
and thus yields the most reliable estimate of the
central tendency of the population.
Comparison of the Mode, the Median,
and the Mean
The mean is always pulled in the direction of the
long tail, that is, in the direction of the extreme
scores.
For the variables that positively skewed (like
income), the mean is higher than the mode or
the median. For negatively skewed variables (like
age at death) the mean is lower.
When there are extreme values in the distribution
(even if it is approximately normal), researchers
sometimes report means that have been adjusted
for outliers.
To adjust means one must discard a fixed
percentage (5%) of the extreme values from
either end of the distribution.
Distribution Characteristics
Mode: Peak(s)
Median: Equal areas point
Mean: Balancing point

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Shapes of Distributions
Symmetric (Right and left sides are
mirror images)
Left tail looks like right tail
Mean = Median = Mode

Mean Mode
Median
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Shapes of Distributions
Right skewed (positively skewed)
Long right tail
Mean > Median

Mode Mean
Median
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Shapes of Distributions
Left skewed (negatively skewed)
Long left tail
Mean < Median

Mean Median Mode

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 Measures of non-central location used to
summarize a set of data
Examples of commonly used quantiles:
Quartiles
Quintiles
Deciles
Percentiles

Descriptive Statistics I 28
 Quartiles split a set of ordered data into four parts.
Imagine cutting a chocolate bar into four equal pieces How many
cuts would you make? (yes, 3!)
Q1 is the First Quartile
25% of the observations are smaller than Q1 and 75% of the
observations are larger
Q2 is the Second Quartile
50% of the observations are smaller than Q2 and 50% of the
observations are larger. Same as the Median. It is also the 50th
percentile.
Q3 is the Third Quartile
75% of the observations are smaller than Q3and 25% of the
observations are larger

Descriptive Statistics I 29
 A quartile, like the median, either takes the value of one of the
observations, or the value halfway between two observations.
If n/4 is an integer, the first quartile (Q1) has the value halfway between the
(n/4)th observation and the next observation.
If n/4 is not an integer, the first quartile has the value of the observation whose
position corresponds to the next highest integer.

The method we are using is an approximation. If you solve this in MS Excel, which
relies on a formula, you may get an answer that is slightly different.

Descriptive Statistics I 30


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 Similar
to what we just learned about quartiles,
where 3 quartiles split the data into 4 equal parts,
There are 9 deciles dividing the distribution into 10
equal portions (tenths).
There are four quintiles dividing the population into 5
equal portions.
and 99 percentiles (next slide)
In all these cases, the convention is the same. The
point, be it a quartile, decile, or percentile, takes
the value of one of the observations or it has a
value halfway between two adjacent observations.
It is never necessary to split the difference between
two observations more finely.

Descriptive Statistics I 32
 Weuse 99 percentiles to divide a data set into
100 equal portions.

Percentilesare used in analyzing the results of

standardized exams. For instance, a score of 40
on a standardized test might seem like a
terrible grade, but if it is the 99th percentile,
dont worry about telling your parents.

Which percentile is Q1? Q2 (the median)? Q3?

We will always use computer software to obtain
the percentiles.

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Data (n=16):
1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10
Compute the mean, median, mode, quartiles.

Answer.
1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 7 8 10
Mean = 65/16 = 4.06
Median = 3.5
Mode = 2
Q1 = 2
Q2 = Median = 3.5
Q3 = 5.5

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Data number of absences (n=13) :
0, 5, 3, 2, 1, 2, 4, 3, 1, 0, 0, 6, 12
Compute the mean, median, mode,
quartiles.

Answer. First order the data:

0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12
Mean = 39/13 = 3.0 absences
Median = 2 absences
Mode = 0 absences
Q1 = .5 absences
Q3 = 4.5 absences

Descriptive Statistics I 35
Data: Reading Levels of 16 eighth graders.
5, 6, 6, 6, 5, 8, 7, 7, 7, 8, 10, 9, 9, 9, 9, 9

Answer. First, order the data:

5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 10
Sum=120.
Mean= 120/16 = 7.5 This is the average reading
level of the 16 students.
Median = Q2 = 7.5
Q1 = 6, Q3 = 9
Mode = 9

Descriptive Statistics I 36
 It refersto how spread out the scores are.
In other words, how similar or different
participants are from one another on the
variable. It is either homogeneous or
heterogeneous sample.
Why do we need to look at measures of
dispersion?
Consider this example:
A company is about to buy computer chips that
must have an average life of 10 years. The
company has a choice of two suppliers. Whose
chips should they buy? They take a sample of 10
chips from each of the suppliers and test them.
See the data on the next slide.

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We see that supplier Bs chips have a longer average life.
Supplier A chips Supplier B chips
(life in years) (life in years)

However, what if the company offers 11 170

11 1
a 3-year warranty? 10 1
10 160
11 2
Then, computers manufactured 11 150

using the chips from supplier A 11 150

11 170
will have no returns 10 2

while using supplier B will result in 12 140

4/10 or 40% returns.

MedianA = 11 MedianB = 145 years
years
sA = 0.63 years sB = 80.6 years
RangeA = 2 years RangeB = 169 years
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Normal Distribution

Standard Deviation
Standard Deviation

Mean Mean
 We will study these five measures of
dispersion
Range
Interquartile Range
Standard Deviation
Variance
Coefficient of Variation
Relative Standing.

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The Range
Is the simplest measure of variability, is the
difference between the highest score and the
lowest score in the distribution.
In research, the range is often shown as the
minimum and maximum value, without the
abstracted difference score.
It provides a quick summary of a distributions
variability.
It also provides useful information about a
distribution when there are extreme values.
The range has two values, it is highly unstable.
 Range = Largest Value Smallest Value
Example: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 21, 25, 30
Answer: Range = 30 1 = 29.
Pros:
Easy to calculate
Cons:
Value of range is only determined by two
values
The interpretation of the range is difficult.
One problem with the range is that it is
influenced by extreme values at either end.

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43


Descriptive Statistics I 44
Standard Deviation
The smaller the standard deviation, the better is
the mean as the summary of a typical score. E.g.
10 people weighted 150 pounds, the SD would be
zero, and the mean of 150 would communicate
perfectly accurate information about all the
participants wt. Another example would be a
heterogeneous sample 5 people 100 pounds and
another five people 200 pounds. The mean still
150, but the SD would be 52.7.
In normal distribution there are 3 SDs above the
mean and 3 SDs below the mean.


Xi Yi
1 0
2 0
3 0
4 5
5 10

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 X

1 3 -2 4
2 3 -1 1
3 3 0 0
4 3 1 1
5 3 2 4
=0 10

Y
0 3 -3 9
0 3 -3 9
0 3 -3 9
5 3 2 4
10 3 7 49
=0 80

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48


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Relationship between SD and
frequency distribution

SD -2.5 -2 -1 mean +1 +2 +2.5

68%
95%
99%
 The problem with s2 and s is that they are both, like the
mean, in the original units.
This makes it difficult to compare the variability of two
data sets that are in different units or where the
magnitude of the numbers is very different in the two
sets. For example,
Suppose you wish to compare two stocks and one is in dollars and the other is in
yen; if you want to know which one is more volatile, you should use the coefficient
of variation.
It is also not appropriate to compare two stocks of vastly different prices even if
both are in the same units.
The standard deviation for a stock that sells for around $300 is going to be very
different from one with a price of around $0.25.

The coefficient of variation will be a better measure of

dispersion in these cases than the standard deviation
(see example on the next slide).
51


Descriptive Statistics I 52
Which stock is more volatile?
Closing prices over the last 8 months:
Stock A Stock B
JAN $1.00 $180
$1.62 FEB 1.50 175
CVA = $1.70 x 100% = 95.3% MAR
APR
1.90
.60
182
186
MAY 3.00 188
JUN .40 190
JUL 5.00 200
AUG .20 210
$11.33
CVB =$188.88 x 100% = 6.0% Mean
s2
$1.70
2.61
$188.88
128.41
s $1.62 $11.33

Answer: The standard deviation of B is higher than

for A, but A is more volatile:

Descriptive Statistics I 53


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Relative Standing
It provides information about the position
of an individual score value within a
distribution scores.
Two types:
Percentile Ranks.
Standard Scores.
Percentile Ranks
It is the percentage of scores in the distribution that fall at
or below a given value.
A percentile is a score value above which and below which a
certain percentage of value in a distribution fall.
P = Number of scores less than a given score divided by
total number scores X 100.
E.g. suppose you received a score of 90 on a test given to a
class of 50 people. Of your classmates, 40 had scores lower
than 90. P = 40/50 X 100 = 80. YOU achieved a higher
score than 80% of the people who took the test, which also
means that almost 20% who took the test did better than
you.
Percentiles are symbolized by the letter P, with a subscript
indicating the percentage below the score value. Hence, P60
refers to the 60th percentile and stands for the score below
which 60% of values fall.
Percentile Ranks
The statement P40= 55 means that 40%
of the values in the distribution fall below
the score 55.
The are several interpercentile measures
of variability. The most common being the
Interquartile range (IQR).
IQR
The Interquartile range (IQR) is the score
at the 75th percentile or 3rd quartile (Q3)
minus the score at the 25th percentile or
first quartile (Q1). Are the most used to
define outliers.
It is not sensitive to extreme values.
 IQR = Q3 Q1
Example (n = 15):
0, 0, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 12, 17, 18, 20, 22, 45, 56, 98
Q1 = 3, Q3 = 22
IQR = 22 3 = 19 (Range = 98)
This is basically the range of the central 50%
of the observations in the distribution.
Problem: The Interquartile range does not
take into account the variability of the total
data (only the central 50%). We are
throwing out half of the data.

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Standard Scores
There are scores that are expressed in
terms of their relative distance from the
mean. It provides information not only
about rank but also distance between
scores.
It often called Z-score.
Z Score
Is a standard score that indicates how
many SDs from the mean a particular
values lies.
Z = Score of value mean of scores
divided by standard deviation.
Standard Normal Scores
How many standard deviations away from
the mean are you?
Observation mean
Standard Score (Z) =
Standard deviation

Z is normal with mean 0 and standard

deviation of 1.

22 July 2017 62
22 July 2017 63
Standard Normal Scores
A standard score of:
Z = 1: The observation lies one SD
above the mean
Z = 2: The observation is two SD
above the mean
Z = -1: The observation lies 1 SD
below the mean
Z = -2: The observation lies 2 SD
below the mean

22 July 2017 64
Standard Normal Scores
Example: Male Blood Pressure,
mean = 125, s = 14 mmHg
BP = 167 mmHg

167 125
Z 3.0
BP = 97 mmHg 14
97 125
Z 2.0
14

22 July 2017 65
What is the Usefulness of a
Standard Normal Score?
It tells you how many SDs (s) an observation is
from the mean
Thus, it is a way of quickly assessing how
unusual an observation is
Example: Suppose the mean BP is 125 mmHg,
and standard deviation = 14 mmHg
Is 167 mmHg an unusually high measure?
If we know Z = 3.0, does that help us?

22 July 2017 66


Descriptive Statistics II 67


X Z
0 -1.34
2 -.80
4 -.27
6 .27
8 .80
10 1.34

Descriptive Statistics II 68
 No matter what you are measuring, a Z-score
of more than +5 or less than 5 would indicate
a very, very unusual score.
For standardized data, if it is normally
distributed, 95% of the data will be between 2
standard deviations about the mean.
If the data follows a normal distribution,
95% of the data will be between -1.96 and +1.96.
99.7% of the data will fall between -3 and +3.
99.99% of the data will fall between -4 and +4.

Worst
case scenario: 75% of the data are
between 2 standard deviations about the mean.

69


2 3 8 8 9 10 10 12 15 18 22 63

Q1 Median
Smalles Q3 Larges
t t

Descriptive Statistics II 70
Major reasons for using Index
(descriptive statistics)
Understanding the data.
Evaluating outliers. Outliers are often identified in
relation to the value of a distributions IQR. A
mild outlier is a data value that lies between 1.5
and 3 times the IQR below Q1 or above Q3.
Extreme outlier is a data value that is more that
three times the IQR below Q1 or above Q3.
Describe the research sample.
Answering research questions.