Descriptive Statistics Tool

Figure 6-21Descriptive Statistics Tool Dialog

The descriptive statistics tool calculates various statistics for the given variables and a confidence interval for the population mean. The variables are specified via the Input Range: entry. The given range or list of ranges can be grouped into variables by columns, rows, or areas.

This tool can produce four different kinds of statistical data.

  • If the Summary Statistics option is selected, this tool calculates the mean, standard error, median, mode, standard deviation, sample variance, kurtosis, skewness, range, minimum, maximum, sum, and count for each variable.

  • If the Confidence Interval for the Mean option is selected, the tool calculates confidence intervals for the population mean of each variable. Specify the confidence level in the entry box. The default confidence level is 95%.

    The interval given will usually be wider than the interval obtained using the CONFIDENCE function. The CONFIDENCE function assumes that the population standard deviation is known. This tool estimates the population standard deviation using the sample standard deviation.

  • If the Kth Largest: option is selected, the tool finds the kth largest value of each of the variables. Specify k in the entry box next to the option. The default is 1.

  • If the Kth Smallest: option is selected, the tool finds the kth smallest value of each of the variables. Specify k in the entry box next to the option. The default is 1.

If the first entry for each variable contains the label, select the Labels option.

Figure 6-22Some Example Data
Example 6-5Using the Descriptive Statistics Tool

Figure 6-22 shows some example data, Figure 6-23 the selected options, and Figure 6-24 the corresponding output.

Figure 6-23The Options Page For Descriptive Statistics
Figure 6-24Descriptive Statistics Tool Output