Anscombe Quartet

initial data

A

B

C

D

negative

The Anscombe quartet is comprised of four scatterplots that have nearly identical correlations, as well as means and standard deviations, but disparate shapes. These graphs show the crucial role that data visualization plays in developing a sensible statistical model. The negative option is included to produce the mirror image graph.

Details

This Demonstration is intended for introductory statistics courses.

[1] F. J. Anscombe, "Graphs in Statistical Analysis," The American Statistician 27(1), 1973 pp. 17–21.

[2] "Anscombe's Quartet," Wikipedia.

External Links

Correlation (Wolfram Documentation Center)

Fit (Wolfram Documentation Center)

Scatter Diagram (Wolfram MathWorld)

Permanent Citation

Ian McLeod

"Anscombe Quartet"
http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/AnscombeQuartet/
Wolfram Demonstrations Project
Published: April 26, 2010