Lesson 2: Summarizing Data

Section 5: Methods for Summarizing Data

Knowing the type of variable helps you decide how to summarize the data. Table 2.7 displays the ways in which different variables might be summarized.

Table 2.7 Methods for Summarizing Different Types of Variables

Scale
Ratio or Proportion
Measure of
Central Location
Measure of Spread
Nominal
yes
no no
Ordinal
yes
no no
Interval
yes, but might need to group first
yes yes
Ratio
yes, but might need to group first
yes yes