. Comparing Groups using Box-plots .

When comparing two groups a box-and-whisker plot is used

A Sample size of at least 30 is needed to generalize about a population

How can we tell if the groups are different? (Achieve & Merit)

"No overlap in spreads" "Boxes overlap but "Boxes overlap

or "75% is below 75%" not both medians" with both
so there IS a difference or "75% below 50%" medians"
between group 'A' & 'B' so there IS LIKELY to be NO difference
a difference between can be claimed
group 'A' & 'B'

B
B B
B A
A
A or
A

“B is greater than A” “It is likely that We cannot tell if

B is greater than A” there is a difference
 . More Comparing Groups using Box-plots .
(Excellence) Using the 'Overall visible spread' to make a comparison when
the boxes overlap:
The Distance Between Medians (DBM) as a percentage of
Overall Visible Spread (OVS)

B
Overall Visible
Difference Between Spread (OVS) BDM
A × 100 =
Medians (BDM) OVS

(see Excel demo)

For a sample size of 30 if this percentage is over 33% there tends to be a

difference between A and B

For a sample size of 100 if this percentage is over 20% there tends to be a
difference between A and B

For a sample size of 1000 if this percentage is over 10% there tends to be a
difference between A and B
 . Practice Comparing Groups using Box-plots .
Describe the differences between these groups (Sample of 30)
1) 2) 3) 4)

Set A Set B Set A Set B Set A Set B Set A Set B

Max 12 15 Max 14 16 Max 14 16 Max 14 14
UQ 10 13 UQ 12 13 UQ 12 14 UQ 12 13
Median 7 10Median 11 10 Median 11 13 Median 11 9
LQ 6 9 LQ 6 9 LQ 8 9 LQ 8 7
Min 5 6 Min 5 8 Min 5 8 Min 5 4