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Statistics vocabulary · Reporting Results

Scatter plot

Meaning in statistics, with examples

nounCore term

In statistics, scatter plot means: A graph that shows the relationship between two numeric variables by placing one dot for each observation according to its two values.

In Turkish: saçılım grafiği, serpilme diyagramı, dağılım grafiği

How it is used

The first chart to draw before computing a correlation or fitting a regression, because it reveals curves, clusters and outliers. Also written 'scatterplot' and called a scatter graph or scatter diagram. A fitted line or trend line is often added.

Example sentences

  1. The scatter plot shows a clear positive relationship between temperature and electricity use.

  2. Add the regression line to the scatter plot so readers can see the trend.

Common collocations

  • draw a scatter plot
  • scatter plot matrix
  • add a trend line
  • points on the scatter plot
  • correlationA relationship between two variables in which they tend to change together, either in the same direction (positive) or in opposite directions (negative).
  • correlation coefficientA number between −1 and +1 that measures the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables; 0 means there is no linear relationship.
  • linear regressionA regression method that models the outcome as a straight-line function of one or more predictors, estimating an intercept and one slope per predictor.
  • outlierAn observation that lies unusually far from most of the other values in a data set; it may come from an error or from a genuinely unusual case.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Reporting Results

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