DemonstrationsIIMeasuresofCentralTendencyand.docVIP

Demonstrations II Dr. Scott Stevens N. Arithmetic mean (Average) O. Median (and comparison with the mean) P. Box plots (modified and unmodified), quartiles, and IQR Q. The mean, from grouped data R. Comparison of measure of central tendency: mean, median, mode, midrange, midhinge S. Standard deviation and variance N. Arithmetic Mean (Average) [For the mean from grouped data, see Q.] Problem: During the 1980 presidential campaign, Ronald Reagan repeatedly asked voters if they were better off in 1980 than they were 4 years before. Here are some data (in yellow) on the unemployment and inflation rates during the Carter Administration (’77 to ’80) and the Reagan Administration (’81 to ’88). Is there any difference between the average unemployment rate in the two administrations? Average inflation rate? This is quite easy to compute by hand. Assuming that by average the problem means mean, we just take the numbers to be averaged, add them, then divide by the number of numbers added. We can also do this with the Excel =AVERAGE(range) function. A B C 1 Year Unemployment Inflation 2 1977 7.1 6.7 3 1978 6.1 9 4 1979 5.8 13.3 5 1980 7.1 12.5 6 1981 7.6 8.9 7 1982 9.7 3.8 8 1983 9.6 9.6 9 1984 7.5 7.5 10 1985 7.2 7.2 11 1986 7 7 12 1987 6.2 6.2 13 1988 5.5 5.5 14 15 Carter Average 6.525 10.375 16 Reagan Average 7.5375 6.9625 So the Carter unemployment average, for example, was computed as = AVERAGE(B2:B5), since the unemployment figures for the Carter years were in spreadsheet cells B2 through B5. The result show that unemployment was lower during the Carter years, but that inflation was considerably lower during the Reagan years. The question that remains is whether the differences in these figures are too large to be credited to random fluctuation alone. That question is one we take up later in the semester. It’s important to note that the average, a single number, cannot tell the whole story of a data set. Be careful what conclusio