Module 1 – Graphing Data (Biostatistics for Evidence Based Practice) Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key graphing concepts from Module 1 notes, including various plots, distributions, and percentiles.

Graphing

The process of creating charts and plots to visually summarize and compare data.

Central Tendency

A measure that describes the center of a data distribution (e.g., mean, median, mode).

Dispersion

A measure of how spread out data are (e.g., range, variance, standard deviation).

Bar Chart

A graph using bars to compare quantities across categories or groups.

Histogram

A graphical display of a frequency distribution for continuous data, with adjacent bars representing data intervals.

Stem-and-Leaf Plot

A plot that shows data values by splitting digits into stems and leaves to preserve the original numbers.

Frequency Table

A table that lists data values or intervals with their observed frequencies and often percentages.

Frequency

The number of observations falling into a category or interval.

Percent

The proportion of observations in a category, expressed as a percent.

Valid Percent

Percent calculated using only valid responses (excluding missing data).

Cumulative Percent

The running total of percentages up to each category.

Frequency Distribution

A summary showing the frequency of each value or interval in the data set.

Leptokurtic

A distribution that is tall and sharply peaked compared with a normal distribution.

Mesokurtic

A distribution with moderate peakedness similar to the normal distribution.

Platykurtic

A distribution that is flatter than normal, with lighter tails.

Normal Curve

A symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution characterized by normal curve properties.

Positive Skew

A distribution with a longer tail on the right side (higher values).

Negative Skew

A distribution with a longer tail on the left side (lower values).

Boxplot

A graphical summary of a distribution using quartiles, median, and possible outliers; includes whiskers.

Outlier

An observation that lies far away from other data points, potentially outside the whiskers.

Whisker

The lines extending from the box in a boxplot to show spread up to the most extreme non-outlier data.

75th Percentile

The value below which 75% of observations fall (Q3).

25th Percentile

The value below which 25% of observations fall (Q1).

Mean

The arithmetic average of the data set.

Median

The middle value of an ordered data set.