What Discrete is
Discrete data is data that can only take certain values. It is not continuous, like a line, and exists as distinct points. Examples of discrete data include counts (the number of cars in a parking lot), rankings (the rank order of students in a class from highest to lowest score), and categories (the favorite color of a group of people).
Discrete data can be collected in several ways.
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Surveys: Surveys are one of the most common ways to collect discrete data, as they allow people to provide responses to questions with discrete values.
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Experiments: Experiments are another way to collect discrete data. Experiments can be conducted in a laboratory setting or in the field, and they allow researchers to measure outcomes that have definite values.
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Observations: Observations are a third way to collect discrete data. For example, an observer might count the number of people in a room or the number of cars in a parking lot.
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Secondary Sources: Discrete data can also be collected from secondary sources, such as published data or existing databases. For example, a researcher might collect demographic data from census records or economic data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Examples
- Counting the number of customers who purchased a certain product in a given time period.
- Examining the number of students who received a passing grade in a course.
- Calculating the number of people in a particular demographic group who voted in an election.
- Determining the number of restaurants in a city with a certain rating.
- Estimating the number of cars on a given street at a certain time.