When might a Stemplot be useful?
3 min read
Asked by: Erica Jefferies
Stemplots show a little more information than a histogram and have been a common tool for displaying data sets since the 1970s. They are typically used when there is a medium amount of quantitative variables to analyze; Stemplots of more than 50 observations are unusual.
What is a Stemplot best used for?
A stem and leaf plot, or stem plot, is a technique used to classify either discrete or continuous variables. A stem and leaf plot is used to organize data as they are collected. A stem and leaf plot looks something like a bar graph. Each number in the data is broken down into a stem and a leaf, thus the name.
When should stem and leaf plots be used?
The stem and leaf plot is used when your data is not too large (about 15-150 data points). The stem and leaf plot is drawn in a table with two columns. The stems are listed down in the left column. Each stem is listed, even if some stems have no leaves.
How are stem and leaf plots used in real life?
Admittedly stem and leaf diagrams are rarely used in ‘real life’. In fact the only common examples we can find are timetables, such as the Japanese train timetable shown in the picture below (more examples here).
Are Stemplots useful for categorical data?
Stemplots are useful both for quantitative and categorical data sets.
What are the advantages of a stem and leaf display over the histogram?
The stem and leaf plot has a slight difference over the histogram as it can be constructed more quickly and easily as compared to histograms. The stem-leaf plot shows individual data points whereas the histogram does not.
What type of data is best suited for use with a stem and leaf diagram?
One simple graph, the stem-and-leaf graph or stemplot, comes from the field of exploratory data analysis. It is a good choice when the data sets are small.
How do you analyze a Stemplot?
Steps to Interpreting a Stem Plot
The stems are on the left of the vertical line and the leaves are on the right. The stems are usually the first digit of a number. So if you have a value of 25, 2 is the stem that goes on the left of the vertical line and 5 is the leaf that goes on the right.
What is a disadvantage of using a stem-and-leaf plot instead of a histogram?
What is a disadvantage of using a stem-and-leaf plot instead of a histogram? Histograms easily organize data of all sizes where stem-and-leaf plots do not.
Which plot is best for categorical variables?
Mosaic plots are good for comaparing two categorical variables, particularly if you have a natural sorting or want to sort by size.
Which graph is best to show categorical data?
bar chart
With categorical or discrete data a bar chart is typically your best option. A bar chart places the separate values of the data on the x-axis and the height of the bar indicates the count of that category.
What graphs can be used for categorical data?
Frequency tables, pie charts, and bar charts are the most appropriate graphical displays for categorical variables.
Is a stem plot categorical or quantitative?
While Bar Graphs and Pie Charts are used to graph Categorical Data, there are many methods of graphing Quantitative Data. These include dotplots, stemplots, histograms, and boxplots.
Is a stem-and-leaf plot categorical?
A Stem and Leaf Plot is a means to visualize the distribution of a continuous variable and thus determine the shape of the distribution of it, either on its own or in relation to a dichotomous categorical variable.
