ποΈ Week 04 - Multiple Distributions & Comparisons
This week moves beyond visualizing single distributions to the crucial task of comparing multiple distributions. Students will learn sophisticated techniques for showing how data varies across groups, time periods, or conditionsβa fundamental skill for data-driven decision making and statistical analysis.
The first half of the week introduces ECDFs (Empirical Cumulative Distribution Functions) and Q-Q plots. While histograms remain useful, students will discover that ECDFs avoid arbitrary bin choices and make percentile comparisons precise and straightforward. Q-Q plots provide a rigorous way to assess whether two distributions share the same shape, helping students move beyond visual intuition to systematic comparison. Since this course has no prerequisites, weβll build these concepts from the ground up, explaining what distributions are and why comparing them matters.
The second half explores the workhorse visualizations for comparing distributions: boxplots, violin plots, and ridgeline plots. Students will learn to construct box-and-whisker plots by hand to understand the five-number summary, then explore how violin plots add distributional shape information and ridgeline plots elegantly display many distributions simultaneously. Weβll also cover small multiples (faceting) as a powerful alternative when overlaying becomes cluttered.
π¨βπ« Lecture Slides Tuesday
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π¨βπ« Lecture Slides Thursday
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