posted on July 5, 2001 10:09:29 AM new
auctionsite evaluations: a glossary
Rather than repeat definitions, here's a few basic concepts regarding my estimated sell-through rate and the reported sell-through rate of the auctionsites themselves which are regarded as accurate.
average
n.
A number that typifies a set of numbers of which it is a function.
See arithmetic mean.
arithmetic mean
n.
The value obtained by dividing the sum of a set of quantities by the number of quantities in the set. Also called average.
median
adj.
The middle value in a distribution, above and below which lie an equal number of values.
statistic
n.
A numerical datum.
A numerical value, such as standard deviation or mean, that characterizes the sample or population from which it was derived.
normal distribution curve
A normal distribution curve is bell-shaped and symmetrical. It demonstrates that if you measure a given quality or characteristic in a large group, you will find that the average or medium range occurs most frequently, drops of rapidly, and then levels on both sides.
http://oll.temple.edu/psych170/3q1_hlp1.htm
A discussion of the normal distribution curve is found at
http://mare-2.uhh.hawaii.edu/Normal%20Distribution.htm
but don't get bogged down in the mathematics, just note that Figure 2 and Figure 3 illustrate the normal distribution cure. This is not a statistical study; rather, we are simply making estimations based on some assumptions when the necessary data is not provided by the auctionsites themselves.
You have been equating average with median. You should probably check the definition of median and revise your posts. You should be using "mean", not "median" as median has a slightly different meaning.
Since this is your glossary, you may want to explain the difference between median, mean and mode.
Revision:
Oops, I just realized you did define median. Not sure why you would use that in place of mean though.
[ edited by gottaknow88 on Jul 11, 2001 06:01 PM ]
