QUANTITATIVE STATISTICS

Quantitative Statistics

Quantitative Statistics

Frequency Analysis

Data analysis begins with "frequency analysis." After the data collection is complete the analyst starts exploring the data, by measuring the central tendency of the collected data and mainly the dispersion of the collected data around the central tendency. This analysis is mainly used for describing discrete categories of the collected data having yes or no response or multiple choice question format (Henk, 2004, 12-39).

Mean

Mean is the arithmetical average of a set of numbers in statistics. The mean is then calculated by summing up all the numbers and dividing then by their total number.

Take for example the following set of numbers: 2, 4, 5, 8, and 12. The average is calculated by the following method: 2 + 4 + 6 + 9 + 12 = 31 / 5 = 6.6. So the average of the numbers is 6.6 (Henk, 2004, 12-39).

Mode

The most repeated number is the mode in a set of numbers.

Mode is the average that refers to the most frequently occurring value or most-common in a series of data. For example, the mode of the 1, 1, 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, and 6 is 1 because it is the only value taking place thrice. There may or may not be a mode, or two modes (called bimodal series) or more modes in any given set. In a frequency distribution graph, the peak represents the mode (Henk, 2004, 12-39).

Median

In statistics median is explained as the value separating the higher half of a series, a probability, or a population distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest value and picking the middle one. If there is an even number of observations, then there is no single middle value; the median is then usually defined to be the mean of the two middle values (Oldendick, 1994, 264-73).

The frequency distribution is a verification of the number of values that fall inside each response category. The frequency circulation, then, has two elements:

(1) The classes of answer, and

(2) The frequency with which respondents are recognized with each category. The only technical requirement of the frequency analysis is that the classes of answer be mutually exclusive and exhaustive. This entails that the identical fact will not be counted as belonging to more than one answer category. The frequency analysis must be exhaustive in the sense that all respondents should fit into a category (Oldendick, 1994, 264-73).

Standard deviation

The standard deviation is the measure that is most often used to describe variability in data distributions. It is a rough measure of the average amount by which the observations vary on the either sides of mean. Its simply the square of the varience.

Calculations

Mean = (2 + 4 + 6 + 9 + 12) = 31 / 5 = 6.6 So the mean of the numbers is 6.6

Mode = L + [(fm-f1) / (fm-f1)+(fm-f2)] x h

where:

L is the lower class boundary ...