How to Calculate Descriptive Statistics
What is Descriptive Statistics?
Descriptive statistics summarize and describe the key features of a dataset: central tendency (mean, median, mode), spread (range, variance, standard deviation), and shape (skewness, kurtosis). They condense large datasets into interpretable summaries.
Step-by-Step Guide
- 1Mean: sum of all values / count
- 2Median: middle value when sorted (average of two middle values if even count)
- 3Standard deviation: √(average squared deviation from mean)
- 4Quartiles: Q1 (25th percentile), Q2 (median, 50th), Q3 (75th)
Worked Examples
Input
Dataset: 2, 4, 4, 6, 8, 8, 10
Result
Mean=6, Median=6, Mode=4&8, StdDev≈2.58
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