Example 8: Visually Comparing Variables

This example is based on the data file Adstudy.sta. The data is an advertising effectiveness study.

Open the data file, and start the Basic Statistics and Tables module:

Ribbon bar. Select the Home tab. In the File group, click the Open arrow and on the menu, select Open Examples. The Open a STATISTICA Data File dialog box is displayed. Adstudy.sta is located in the Datasets folder. Next, select the Statistics tab. In the Base group, click Basic Statistics to display the Basic Statistics and Tables Startup Panel.

Classic menus. On the File menu, select Open Examples to display the Open a STATISTICA Data File dialog box; Adstudy.sta is located in the Datasets folder. Then, on the Statistics menu, select Basic Statistics/Tables to display the Basic Statistics and Tables Startup Panel.

To begin the analysis, double-click Descriptive statistics to display the Descriptive Statistics dialog box.

A common graphical means of detecting outliers is to construct a box plot of the data. Histograms are used to look at data distribution. The Graphs 1 and Graphs 2 buttons on the Quick tab create compound graphs that contain a box plot and histogram with descriptive statistics. They are used to visually look at a single variable.

Note: If you are visually exploring one variable and need the histogram and box plot to use the same scale, click the Graphical comparative summary display button rather than the Graph 1 or Graph 2 buttons.

We want to visually compare multiple variables. Click the Variables button in the Descriptive Statistics dialog box to display a variable selection dialog box. Select MEASURE01-MEASURE23, and then click the OK button.

Now, in the Descriptive Statistics dialog box, on the Quick Tab, click the Graphical comparative summary display button.

Four compound graphs are displayed. Six variables can be compared per graph.