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Quantitative Skills 1 Graphing

The document outlines the basics of quantitative skills, focusing on data types, graphing techniques, and statistical analysis. It distinguishes between qualitative and quantitative data, explains the characteristics of effective graphs, and discusses various types of descriptive statistics and their corresponding graphical representations. Additionally, it highlights the importance of sampling methods and the implications of sampling bias on data analysis.

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4 views40 pages

Quantitative Skills 1 Graphing

The document outlines the basics of quantitative skills, focusing on data types, graphing techniques, and statistical analysis. It distinguishes between qualitative and quantitative data, explains the characteristics of effective graphs, and discusses various types of descriptive statistics and their corresponding graphical representations. Additionally, it highlights the importance of sampling methods and the implications of sampling bias on data analysis.

Uploaded by

gymhb860930
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Quantitative Skills 1:

Graphing
Categories of data:

• Qualitative data is
not numerical and
is usually
subjective.

• Quantitative data is 1.75 mL


numerical and
lends itself to
statistical analysis.
Quantitative data can be either discrete
or continuous.

• Discrete data has


finite values, such as
integers, or bucket
categories such as
“red” or “tall”.

• Continuous data has


an infinite number of
values and forms a
Which graph shows continuous data
and which graph shows discrete data?
Graph A Graph B
One of the first steps in data analysis is to
create graphical displays of the data. Visual
displays can make it easy to see patterns
and can clarify how two variables affect
each other.
Line Graphs

• Used when data on both


scales of the graph (the
x and y axes) are
continuous.

• The dots indicate


measurements that
were actually made.
Basic Traits of A Good Graph

1. A Good Title Relation Between Study Time and


Score on a Biology Exam in 2011
• A good title is one -or-
that tells exactly Study Time vs. Score on a Biology
what information Exam in 2011

the author is
trying to present
with the graph.
Basic Traits of A Good Graph

2. Axes should be
consistently
numbered.

3. Axes should
contain labels,
including units.
Basic Traits of A Good Graph

4. A frame should
be put around
the outside of
the graph.
Basic Traits of A Good Graph

5. Small marks,
called index
marks, can be
drawn in.
Basic Traits of A Good Graph
Dependent
6. The Variable
independent
variable is
always shown
on the x axis.
7. The dependent
variable is
always shown
on the y axis.
Independent
Variable
Basic Traits of A Good Graph

8. The line should


not be extended
to the origin if
the data do not
start there.
Extrapolation is a prediction of what the
chart might look like beyond the measured
set of data. A broken line is used,
indicating this a prediction and not data
actually collected.
The slope of a line indicates the rate at
which the variables being graphed are
changing.

y y2 – y1
m= =
x x2 – x 1

Rise
Slope =
Run
Positive Slope Negative Slope Zero Slope

Rate Increasing Rate Decreasing Constant Rate

Indicates some
values
were skipped
Line charts can be plotted with multiple
data sets, allowing for better comparison.

Makes
use of a
legend
Effective graphs use statistics as an
essential part of the display.
Statistics is the study of the collection,
organization, analysis, interpretation
and presentation of data.
Population vs. Sample

• Often, researchers want


to know things about a
population (N), but it may
not be feasible to obtain
data for every member of
an entire population.
• A sample (n) is a smaller
group of members of a
population selected to
represent the population.
The sample must
be random.
Descriptive statistics and graphical
displays allow us to estimate how well
sample data represent the true
population.
If a sample is not collected randomly, it
may not closely reflect the original
population. This is called sampling bias.
A normal distribution, also known as a
“bell curve” or “normal curve”, can be
formed with continuous data.
The type of data being collected during
an investigation should be determined
before performing the actual experiment.
The type of data will determine the
statistical analyses that can be used.
Three Types of Data:

• Parametric data: data that fit a


normal curve
• Nonparametric data: data that
do not fit a normal curve
• Frequency or count data:
generated by counting
Normal or parametric data
• Measurement data that fit a normal curve or
distribution.
• Data is continuous, generally in decimal form.
Nonparametric data
• Do not fit a normal distribution, may include
large outliers, or may be count data that can
be ordered.
• Can be qualitative data.
Frequency or count data
• Generated by counting how many of an item
fit into a category.
• Can be data that are collected as percentages.
Two Types of Descriptive Statistics:

• Comparative statistics: compare


variables
• Association statistics: look for
correlations between variables
Comparative statistics compare
phenomena, events, or populations (Is
A different from B?).
Bar Graph
Bar Graph Box-and-Whisker Plot or
Pie Chart

Parametric Data Nonparametric Frequency


(normal data) Data Data
(counts)
Association statistics look for
associations between variables (How
are A and B correlated?).
Scatterplot

Parametric Data
and
Nonparametric
Data
Types of graphs commonly used with
the three data types and suggested
statistical tests:
Bar Graphs

• Used to visually compare two samples of


categorical or count data.
• Are also used to visually compare the
calculated means with error bars of normal
data .
Sample standard error bars (also known as
the sample error of the sample mean) are
the notations at the top of each shaded bar
that shows the sample standard error (SE).
Scatterplots

• Used when
comparing one
measured variable
against another.
• Used when looking
for trends.
If the relationship is thought to be linear, a
linear regression line or best fit line can be
plotted to help define the pattern.
Box-and-Whisker Plots

• Allow graphical comparison of two samples of


nonparametric data (data that do not fit a
normal distribution).
In a box-and-whisker graph, the ticks at the tops and
bottoms of the vertical lines show the highest and
lowest values in the dataset, respectively. The top of
each box shows the upper quartile, the bottom of
each box shows the lower quartile, and the horizontal
line represents the median.
Histograms (Frequency Diagrams)
• Used to display the distribution of data,
providing a representation of the central
tendencies and the spread of data.
Creating a histogram requires setting up
bins — uniform range intervals that cover
the entire range of the data. Then the
number of measurements that fit in each
bin are counted and graphed.
If the data on a histogram show an
approximate normal distribution, then
these are parametric data. If the data do
not approximate a normal distribution
then they are nonparametric data.
References:

AP® Biology
Investigative Labs:
An Inquiry-Based Approach
and

AP® Biology
Quantitative Skills:
A Guide for Teachers

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