Talk:Stem-and-leaf display

Error

Somebody needs to check the math. I've always heard stemplots are to be rounded down to the nearest integer, yet in all the examples standard rounding principles (0-4, 5-9) are used. Again, someone with more math knowledge then me please check that out. I'm looking at a business statistics book right now and it's telling me to round down...

And Kareeser, the point of a stemplot is to sort data so that it can be anlyzed quicker. It was mainly used prior to computers and spreadsheets, but it is still an easy way to sort simple data into a more coherent and easier-to-read format. Rykoshet 1:50 Oct 1 2007 (EST)

Latest reply ever? I think you are more or less correct, although I am not going to attempt a cite, nor am I familiar with standard practice in different parts of the world (which may be an explanation). Rounding down, however, makes sense, as it means assigning data points to a consistent interval, just as you would with a histogram. Calum (talk) 20:15, 26 January 2010 (UTC)

Comments

Fairly good article on describing what a stemplot is and how to construct one, but what is its use? I am still slightly confused. Kareeser|^Talk! 19:00, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

I've added a section on their advantages and disadvantages. Richard001 00:11, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

Error for negative stem

The second plot (one with the negative values) has omitted -3.4. I do not know which one of these two possible solutions is correct. Also, would negative numbers be sorted by absolute value, or by their actual value?

-3 | 4
-2 | 2
-1 | 3
0 | 4 6 6
1 | 7
2 | 5
3 | 
4 | 
5 | 7

-2 | 4
-1 | 2
-0 | 3
0 | 4 6 6
1 | 7
2 | 5
3 | 
4 | 
5 | 7

It would be better to have an illustration in English

Ummm ... can somebody find an illustration of a stemplot in English? That way there would be more hope of learning immediately from the illustration without first learning Japanese. Everybody reading an English Wikipedia page is already known to be willing to read English. CountMacula (talk) 11:45, 13 August 2010 (UTC)

I lived in Japan and used these timetables extensively. They aren't "stem-and-leaf diagrams".

I don't believe it's correct to characterize such Japanese timetables as stem-and-leaf diagrams (viz., also note that there is no matching Japanese page for this rather silly concept of "stem-and-leaf diagrams".) Certainly the Japanese illustration seems completely irrelevant to the article's stated motivation for use of a stem-and-plot diagram: "... to assist in visualizing the shape of a distribution." The timetable doesn't do that; it just gives you a time that you can expect a train. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.192.134.72 (talk) 18:20, 12 May 2013 (UTC)

Wrong Name for Article

This article is about stem and leaf plots, not stem plots. See http://www.mathworks.com/help/techdoc/ref/stem.html or http://matplotlib.sourceforge.net/examples/pylab_examples/stem_plot.html for stem plot examples. Cerberus (talk) 01:21, 15 October 2010 (UTC)

Use in non-numerical contexts

Stem-and-leaf plots can also be used for non-numerical data, for example to illustrate frequencies of two-letter words valid in Scrabble starting with different letters. Is this worth mentioning? Please {{ping|cmglee}} in your reply.

Thanks,
cmɢʟee⎆τaʟκ 04:50, 23 January 2022 (UTC)

 Done