Analyzing Experimental Data

Objectives
• Distinguish among quantitative, qualitative, ratio, interval, ordinal,
and nominal data; give example of each
• Select the appropriate measures of central tendency and variation for
a given set of data
• Describe three ways to find the central value of a set of data, mean,
median, mode; compute the values for a set of data
• Describe the four ways to report the variation in a set of data, range,
standard deviation/variance, frequency distribution; compute the
values for a set of data
• Construct an appropriate data table and graph for sets of quantitative
and qualitative data
• Teach students the fundamentals of descriptive statistics
• Use structured procedures to teach students to develop appropriate
data tables and graphs for quantitative and qualitative data.
Scenario:
Mary investigated the effects of different concentrations of
Chemical X on the growth of tomato plants. Mary hypothesized that if
higher concentrations of Chemical X were applied, then the plants
would exhibit poorer growth. She grew 4 flats of tomato plants, 10
plants/flat, 15 days. She then applied Chemical X as follows:
(a) Flat A: 0% Chemical X; (b) Flat B: 10% Chemical X; (c) Flat C: 20%
Chemical X; and (d) Flat D: 30% Chemical X. The plants received the
same amount of sunlight and water each day. At the end of 30 days,
Mary recorded the height of the plants (cm), the general health of the
plants (healthy/unhealthy), and the quality of the leaves using a 4-point
scale.
Ratings on the leaf quality scale were defined as follows. (a) Rating of 4:
Green color, firm, no curled edges; (b) Rating of 3: Yellow-green color,
firm, no curled edges; (c) Rating of 2: Yellow color, limp, curled edges;
(d) Rating of 1: Brown color, limp, curled leaf.
Experimental Design Diagram
Title: The Effect of Various Concentrations of Chemical X on the
Growth of Tomato Plants
Hypothesis: If higher concentrations of Chemical X are applied, then
tomato plants will exhibit poorer growth.
IV: Concentration of Chemical X

0%
10% 20% 30%
(Control)

10 plants 10 plants 10 plants 10 plants

DV: Height of plants (cm)

Health of plants (healthy/unhealthy)
Leaf quality (scale of 1-4)

C: Amount of sunlight
Amount of water
Amount of pre-experiment growth (15 days)
Length of experiment (30 days)
TYPES OF DATA
Quantitative Data & Qualitative Data
• Quantitative Data
- are based on measurements made using a scale with
equal intervals

Examples:
Height of a person in meters
Mass of rabbits in kilograms
Temperature of water in degrees Celsius
• Qualitative Data
- are collected using non-standard scales with unequal
intervals or discrete categories.

Examples:
Gender of an organism
Color of individual’s eyes
LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
Levels of Measurement

Quantitative Data Qualitative Data

• Ratio • Nominal
• Interval • Ordinal
Subdivisions of Quantitative Data
• Ratio Data
- when quantitative data are collected using a scale with
equal intervals and an absolute zero

Examples:
Temperature of a gas on the Kelvin scale
Velocity of an object in m/sec
Distance from a point in meters
Subdivisions of Quantitative Data
• Interval Data
- If objects are measured using a scale with equal intervals,
but no absolute zero.

Examples:
Temperature of a substance on the Celsius scale
Subdivisions of Qualitative Data
• Nominal data
- exists when objects have been named or placed into
discrete categories that cannot be rank ordered

Examples:
Gender (male/female)
Color of hair (red, black, brown)
Subdivisions of Qualitative Data
• Ordinal data
- exists when objects are placed into categories that
can be rank ordered.

Examples:
Activity of an animal could be rated on a scale 1-5
(5-very active animal)
Moh’s Hardness Scale for Minerals
Classifying the Dependent variables
Dependent Variable Type of data Level of measurement Justification

Equal intervals,
Height of plants Quantitative data Ratio
absolute zero

Discrete categories,
Health of plants Qualitative data Nominal
not ranked

Discrete categories,
Leaf quality Qualitative data Ordinal
ranked
DESCRIBING DATA
• Compute Measure of Central Tendency (Mean, Median, Mode)
• Describe the Variation
 Quantitative data Qualitative data
Type of information
Interval or Ratio Nominal Ordinal

Mean Mode Median

What is the most typical or central
value? Range Frequency distribution
What is the variation or spread?
Standard deviation
Measures of Central
Tendency
Mean, Median, Mode
Mode
The value of the variable tat occurs most often. It is used for data
at the nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio levels. If two or more values
tie in having the most cases, report them as modes.
Examples
7 15 10
6 13 10
5 12 8
5 11 7
4 9 7
3 9 5
Mode= 5 Mode= 9 4
Modes= 10 & 7
Median
The middle value, after all of the cases have been rank ordered
from highest to lowest. Half of the cases fall above the median value,
half below. The median can be used with ordinal, interval, or ratio data
but not with nominal data.
Examples:
7 15 10
6 13 10
5 12 8
5 11 7
4 9 7
3 9 5
Median= 5 Mode= 11.5 4
Modes= 7
Mean
The arithmetic average or the sum of the individual values
divided by the number of cases. The mean can only be calculated for
interval or ratio data.
Examples:
7+6+5+5+4+3 30
Mean = = = 5
6 6

15 + 13 + 12 + 11 + 9 + 9 69
Mean = = = 11.5
6 6

10 + 10 + 8 + 7 + 7 + 5 + 4 51
Mean = = = 7.3
7 7
 Ratio and Interval Data Ordinal Data Nominal Data

Mean Median – powerful statistics Mode

Exceptions; if there are few

extreme values that would distort
the mean; then the Median or Mode
Mode may be accurate measure
of central tendency
MEASURES OF VARIATION
Range & Frequency distribution
Simple measures of Variation:
Range Frequency distribution
- for a set of quantitative - for a set of qualitative data
data
Range (Quantitative data)
- computed by computing the difference between the
smallest (minimum) and the largest (maximum) measures of the
dependent variable.

Example:
• Plant height
• 2 experimental groups may have equivalent means yet be very
different; Consider John’s data on 25 tomato plants grown with a red
ground cover and 25 tomato plants grown without a ground cover
 Red ground cover No ground cover

Mean height 15.0 cm 14.9 cm

Range in height 10.0 cm 2.0 cm

Maximum (largest plant) 18.0 cm 16.0 cm

Minimum (smallest plant) 8.0 cm 14.0 cm

Number 25 plants 25 plants

Frequency Distribution (Qualitative Data)
- depicts the number of cases falling into each category of
the variation.
 Red ground cover No ground cover

Mode Pink tomatoes Red tomatoes

Frequency Distribution Red: 0 Red: 20

Pink: 12 Pink: 5
Yellow: 8 Yellow: 0
Green: 5 Green: 0

Number 25 plants 25 plants

Emphasize conceptualization
of the two major measures
Dependent Variable Measure of Central Tendency Measure of Variation

Height of plants Mean Range or Standard deviation

Health of plants Mode Frequency distribution
Leaf quality Median Frequency distribution
 DATA TABLES FOR
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
General Data Table for Descriptive Statistics
Title: The Effect of the (IV) on the (DV)
Independent variable
Descriptive
Information Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Central tendency

Variation

Number
DATA TABLE FOR PLANT
HEIGHT
Raw Data
Height of plants (cm) Health of plants Leaf Quality
Concentration of Chemical X Concentration of Chemical X Concentration of Chemical X
0% 10% 20% 30% 0% 10% 20% 30% 0% 10% 20% 30%

15.0 18.0 12.0 6.0 H H H UN 4 4 2 1

14.0 20.0 10.0 8.0 H UN UN UN 4 3 3 1

13.0 14.0 14.0 5.0 H H H UN 4 3 3 1

15.0 20.0 10.0 4.0 H H UN H 4 4 2 2

15.0 18.0 8.0 4.0 H H H UN 4 4 2 1

17.0 19.0 8.0 5.0 H UN UN UN 4 2 2 1

18.0 18.0 10.0 8.0 H H UN H 4 4 2 2

12.0 18.0 10.0 7.0 H H UN UN 4 4 3 2

19.0 17.0 11.0 8.0 H H UN UN 4 4 2 1

15.0 19.0 12.0 5.0 H H H UN 4 3 2 1

Sample Calculations for 0% X
𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 =

15.0 + 14.0 + 13.0 + 15.0 + 15.0 + 17.0 + 18.0 + 12.0 + 19.0 + 15.0
= 15.3
10

𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 = 19.0 − 12.0 = 7.0

Sample Calculations for 20% X
𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 =

12.0 + 10.0 + 14.0 + 10.0 + 8.0 + 8.0 + 10.0 + 10.0 + 11.0 + 12.0
= 10.5
10

𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 = 14.0 − 8.0 = 6.0

 ACTIVITY 8.1
ANALYZING EXPERIMENTAL
DATA
Scenario:
Mary investigated the effects of different concentrations of
Chemical X on the growth of tomato plants. Mary hypothesized that if
higher concentrations of Chemical X were applied, then the plants
would exhibit poorer growth. She grew 4 flats of tomato plants, 10
plants/flat, 15 days. She then applied Chemical X as follows:
(a) Flat A: 0% Chemical X; (b) Flat B: 10% Chemical X; (c) Flat C: 20%
Chemical X; and (d) Flat D: 30% Chemical X. The plants received the
same amount of sunlight and water each day. At the end of 30 days,
Mary recorded the height of the plants (cm), the general health of the
plants (healthy/unhealthy), and the quality of the leaves using a 4-point
scale.
Ratings on the leaf quality scale were defined as follows. (a) Rating of 4:
Green color, firm, no curled edges; (b) Rating of 3: Yellow-green color,
firm, no curled edges; (c) Rating of 2: Yellow color, limp, curled edges;
(d) Rating of 1: Brown color, limp, curled leaf.
Raw Data H - Healthy UN - Unhealthy
Height of plants (cm) Health of plants Leaf Quality
Concentration of Chemical X Concentration of Chemical X Concentration of Chemical X
0% 10% 20% 30% 0% 10% 20% 30% 0% 10% 20% 30%

15.0 18.0 12.0 6.0 H H H UN 4 4 2 1

14.0 20.0 10.0 8.0 H UN UN UN 4 3 3 1

13.0 14.0 14.0 5.0 H H H UN 4 3 3 1

15.0 20.0 10.0 4.0 H H UN H 4 4 2 2

15.0 18.0 8.0 4.0 H H H UN 4 4 2 1

17.0 19.0 8.0 5.0 H UN UN UN 4 2 2 1

18.0 18.0 10.0 8.0 H H UN H 4 4 2 2

12.0 18.0 10.0 7.0 H H UN UN 4 4 3 2

19.0 17.0 11.0 8.0 H H UN UN 4 4 2 1

15.0 19.0 12.0 5.0 H H H UN 4 3 2 1

Analysis
Directions

1. Read the scenario of Mary’s experiment and

identify the independent variable, dependent
variables, constants, control, hypothesis and
repeated trials. Draw an experimental design
diagram.
Experimental Design Diagram
Title: The Effect of Various Concentrations of Chemical X on the
Growth of Tomato Plants
Hypothesis: If higher concentrations of Chemical X are applied, then
tomato plants will exhibit poorer growth.
IV: Concentration of Chemical X

0%
10% 20% 30%
(Control)

10 plants 10 plants 10 plants 10 plants

DV: Height of plants (cm)

Health of plants (healthy/unhealthy)
Leaf quality (scale of 1-4)

C: Amount of sunlight
Amount of water
Amount of pre-experiment growth (15 days)
Length of experiment (30 days)
2. Classify each of the dependent variable in Mary’s experiment as
quantitative or qualitative data; justify your answer.
3. Classify each of the dependent variables in Mary’s experiment as
nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio data; justify your answer.
Dependent Variable Type of data Level of measurement Justification

Equal intervals,
Height of plants Quantitative data Ratio
absolute zero

Discrete categories,
Health of plants Qualitative data Nominal
not ranked

Discrete categories,
Leaf quality Qualitative data Ordinal
ranked
4. For each of the dependent variables in Mary’s experiment, describe
the most appropriate measures of central tendency and variation.
 Ratio and Interval Data Ordinal Data Nominal Data

Mean Median – powerful statistics Mode

Exceptions; if there are few

extreme values that would distort
the mean; then the Median or Mode
Mode may be accurate measure
of central tendency
5. Construct a data table for displaying the measures of central
tendency, variation and number for each set of raw data. Compute
the appropriate measures of central tendency and variation , and
enter then into the table. Construct an appropriate graph.
General Data Table for Descriptive Statistics
Title: The Effect of the (IV) on the (DV)
Independent variable
Descriptive
Information Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Central tendency

Variation

Number
The Effect of Various Concentrations of
Chemical X on the Height of Tomato Plants
Concentration of Chemical X (%)
Descriptive
information
0 10 20 30

Mean 15.3 18.1 10.5 6.0

Range 7.0 6.0 6.0 4.0

Maximum 9.0 20.0 14.0 8.0

Minimum 12.0 14.0 8.0 4.0

Number 10 10 10 10
Mean Height of Plants Exposed to Various
Concentrations of Chemical X
 The Effect of Various Concentrations of
Chemical X on the Health of Tomato Plants
Concentration of Chemical X (%)
Descriptive
information
0 10 20 30

Mode Healthy Healthy Unhealthy Unhealthy

Frequency
distribution

Healthy 10 8 4 2
Unhealthy 0 2 6 8

Number 10 10 10 10
Frequency Distribution for Plant Health at
Various Concentrations of Chemical X
 The Effect of Various Concentrations of
Chemical X on Leaf Quality
Concentration of Chemical X (%)
Descriptive
information
0 10 20 30

Median 4 4 2 1

Frequency
distribution
Quality 4 10 6 0 0
Quality 3 0 3 3 0
Quality 2 0 1 7 3
Quality 1 0 0 0 7

Number 10 10 10 10
Median Leaf Quality for Plants Exposed to
Various Concentrations of Chemical X
Frequency Distribution of Leaf Quality for Plants
Exposed to Various Concentrations of Chemical X
Variance and Standard
Variation
Variance
- mathematically defined as
the average squared distance
from the Mean
Standard Deviation
- is the square root of the
variance and is a measure of how
closely the individual points of
data cluster around the mean.
Variance Standard Deviation
σ(𝑋1 − ത
𝑋) 2
2
𝑠 = σ 𝑋 − 𝑋ത
𝑛 𝑠=
𝑛
𝑋ത = 𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛
𝑛 = 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠
𝑋1 = 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
 Compost Commercial fertilizer

Mean height 16.0 cm 15.0 cm

Standard deviation 5.0 cm 2.0 cm