In a statistical display, each data value should be represented by the same amount of area. Frequency Table A frequency table lists the categories in a categorical variable and gives the counts or percentage of observations of each category. Histogram A histogram shows the distribution of values in a quantitative variable with adjacent bars. Each bar represents the relative frequency of values falling in an interval of values. Dotplot Dotplots represent inPidual values of a quantitative value along a single axis.
Students often approach statistics expecting formulas and algorithms.
We want them to think about data and what it says about the world. Encourage students to discover that they can already reason about data using common sense, so that when we introduce formulas it won't turn off their brains. The ability of ActivStats and of Data Desk to rescale histograms in place is an early encouragement for students to be skeptical of statistical displays made by others. ActivStats continues to warn against bad data displays throughout the course. The Area Principle is worth noting because it is intuitively pleasing here.