Overview

Types of variable, the normal distribution and summarising data

The type of values our data can take is important in how we analyse and visualise it. This week you will learn the difference between continuous and discrete values and how we summarise and visualise them. You will also learn about the “normal distribution” which is the most important continuous distribution.

Visual representations of nominal, ordinal, and binary variables. Left: Nominal (ordered descriptions) with illustrations below of a turtle, snail, and butterfly. Center: Ordinal (ordered descriptions) with illustrations below of three bees - one looks unhappy (saying 'I am unhappy'), one looks ok (saying 'I am OK'), and one looks very happy (saying 'I am awesome!'). Right: Binary (only 2 mutually exclusive outcomes), with below a T-rex saying 'I am extinct' and a shark saying 'HA.'

Discrete variable

Learning objectives

The successful student will be able to:

  • distinguish between continuous, discrete, nominal and ordinal variable
  • read in data in to RStudio from a plain text file and Excel files
  • summarise and plot variables appropriately for the data type

Instructions

  1. Prepare

    1. 📖 Read: Ideas about data

  2. Workshop

    1. 💻 Importing data

    2. 💻 Summarising discrete data

    3. 💻 Summarising count data

    4. 💻 Summarising continuous data

  3. Consolidate

    1. 💻 Summarise some data

    2. 💻 Plot some data

    3. 💻 Format a plot (1)

    4. 💻 Format a plot (2)

    5. 📖 Read Understanding the pipe |>