Graphs

• Raw data can be summarized using descriptive statistics
• Descriptive statistics help scientists display quantitative information on graphs and tables
• Descriptive statistics help researchers understand their own data and communicate their findings to other scientists
• Types of charts and tables

  • Tables
  • Frequency tables
  • Summary tables of descriptive statistics
  • Bar charts
  • Pie charts
  • Scattergrams
  • Histograms
  • Line graphs
• Table


  Raw data table when first collected before summarizing
• Frequency table


  Also known as a tally chart, has 3 columns: behavioral category/variable value, tally mark, total
• Summary table of descriptive statistics

  Includes central tendency like mean and measures of dispersion like range and standard deviation
• Bar chart


  Used to summarize the frequency of categorical/nominal data, with categories on x-axis and frequency/value on y-axis, bars do not touch
• Pie chart


  Circular graph showing frequency as a percentage, with slices representing proportions of the data
• Scattergram


  Shows the relationship between two co-variables in correlational research
• Histogram


  Shows frequency of continuous data, with bars touching to indicate the continuous scale
• Line graph


  Joins the center points of bars in a histogram to display multiple continuous data sets for comparison
• When answering questions about graphs, key things to consider are: identifying the graph type, labeling axes and variables, accurately plotting data, and interpreting the meaning of the data
• The author has 8 tutorial videos covering A-level research methods, which patrons can access along with other resources on Patreon