Browsing by Subject "teaching statistics"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    Guess the Mean: Which Method is Better?
    (Depauw, 2020-08) Rashid, Mamunur; Sarkar, Jyotirmoy; Mathematical Sciences, School of Science
    The mean of a set of numbers may be guessed in one of two ways: (1) as a fulcrum placed under the dot plot; or (2) as a vertical line that equalizes areas of two regions bounded by the step plot (also known as the empirical cumulative distribution function). Which of these two methods is better? We design, conduct and analyze a statistical experiment to address this question. While our findings support better performance by the latter method at the aggregate level, each individual user may respond differently to the question. We hope all users will learn both methods and determine for themselves which method they are better at. We also hope educators will empower their students by including both methods in their syllabi.
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    IVY plots and Gaussian interval plots
    (Wiley, 2021) Sarkar, Jyotirmoy; Rashid, Mamunur; Mathematical Sciences, School of Science
    While a dot plot depicts data on a quantitative variable without distortion, a boxplot shows only the five-number summary. For large data, to aid in counting, we propose an IVY plot as a companion to a dot plot. Also, for large data, if the variable is approximately normally distributed, as a companion to a boxplot, we propose a Gaussian interval plot that depicts the five-number summary, the mean, the SD, the sample size, and the counts of outliers. We hope these enhanced visualizations will add value to the commonly used methods.