Descriptive Characteristics of Distributions of Statistical Variables

Abstract

In the section of descriptive statistics, some characteristics are often defined describing the distribution properties of the tested feature both quantitative (measurable) and qualitative (non-measurable). For quantitative variables (data), if the data comes from a random sample (small size n ≤ 30 or large number n> 30), these characteristics are often referred to as statistics (random sample measures), when the data concern the whole general population then the characteristics these are called parameters. In the didactics of subjects related to descriptive statistics and mathe-matical statistics, it is important to be aware of the difference between particular categories of measures. The presentation of the distribution properties of statistical features by means of measures is also referred to as a parametric description of the distribution in the sample. Evalua-tion of the distribution using parameters or statistics (measurements from the sample) may be related to the location of the feature, its differentiation, symmetry (or asymmetry), as well as concentration (focus). The article presents the possibility of using the STATISTICA computer pro-gram for the calculation and presentation of descriptive characteristics of distributions of statistical features. The use of dedicated modules for calculations and graphical presentation of distributions should be helpful in the didactic process.