How to To Use Descriptive Statistics To Help You Understand Consumer Behavior

Whether you have a big business or a single-person operation, the need for effective research and development is very important. One thing you will need to understand in this aspect is how to read and understand the descriptive statistics of a given set of data. This is important because it will give you an overall picture based on the numbers that have come in. Descriptive statistics can help you clearly see patterns and trends in your target consumers' buying behavior.

Instructions

1. Graphical Summaries - Dispersion Graphs

   Graphical summaries are used in descriptive statistics to show how the collected data is spread. There are two main kinds of graphical summaries which are often used. The first is known as the dispersion graph - these are also known as dot plots and they place data values in relation to other data values along a given number line. Dispersion graphs are specifically used to look for areas of concentration, gaps and any atypical data.

2. Graphical Summaries - Histograms

   Histograms are the second kind of graphical summary. This method combines the given data into different classes - the x-axis typically shows these data classes while the y-axis shows the number of occurrences in each class set. When studying these graphs, if the data seems to cluster to one side, the graph is said to be 'skewed'.

3. Numerical Summaries - Measures of Central Tendency

   Apart from graphical summaries, descriptive statistics also consists of studying numerical summaries. Measures of central tendency are a numerical summary used to summarize the data within a given typical number. This is done via the measures of mean, median and mode. The mean can also be defined as the average, and is simply calculated by adding the data values and dividing it by the number of data values. The median is the numerical value that is got when the data is split into two equal parts. The mode refers to the data value that appears most often in the given data set.

4. Numerical Summaries - Measures of Dispersion

   Numerical summaries also use something called measures of dispersion. This is measured using standard deviation, interquartile range and variance. By using a mixture of graphical and numerical summaries, you can get a well-rounded view of your consumer data. As a result, you will be able to make better-informed and focused marketing decisions.