How
to describe your data with Descriptive Statistics
Using
the Describe - Descriptive Statistics Function
Descriptive
statistics, which is part of the DESCRIBE menu,
allow you to summarize your data in powerful yet easy to
understand terms.
To
obtain Descriptive statistics for your data, select the "Describe" option
from the EZAnalyze menu in Excel, then select "Descriptive
Statistics".
In
the "Descriptive Statistics" dialogue box, select
one or more variables (glossary)
from the variable list, which is located under the question "What
would you like to describe?"
OPTIONS:
- Once
you have selected the variables you would like to describe,
you can select which statistics EZAnalyze will generate
for you. The N is generated by default. You have the following
options:
| Mean |
For
each selected variable, reports the average for all of
the cases in your sample |
| Median |
For
each selected variable, reports the value that falls
halfway between the highest score and the lowest score |
| Minimum
value |
For
each selected variable, reports what the lowest number
is |
| Maximum
value |
For
each selected variable, reports what the highest number
is |
| Standard
deviation |
For
each selected variable, reports how far on average each
score deviates from the mean |
| Range |
For
each selected variable, reports what the total number
of scores are (minimum value subtracted from maximum
value) |
| Sum |
The total of all scores in the variable added together |
When
you click OK, a results report will
be printed on a separate sheet for your review. (click
on "results report" for information on how to interpret
this analysis)
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