Case Study

Explain why the vertical bars in this histogram are generally adjacent without gaps, and explain the significance of the gap at the score of 1717.

Case context: An undergraduate student is analyzing a dataset of self-esteem scores collected from a psychology study. They generate a histogram and observe that all the vertical bars are placed immediately adjacent to each other except for a single gap at the score level of 1717.

Question: Explain why the vertical bars in this histogram are generally adjacent without gaps, and explain the significance of the gap at the score of 1717.

Sample answer: The vertical bars are adjacent because self-esteem is a quantitative variable, and histograms for quantitative data generally have no gaps between bars to represent continuous scales. The gap at the score of 1717 indicates that there were zero individuals in the dataset who obtained a score of 1717.

Key points:

  • Self-esteem is a quantitative variable, which is why vertical bars are adjacent.
  • Adjacent bars represent the continuous/quantitative nature of the distribution.
  • The gap at the score of 1717 means its frequency in this dataset is zero.

Rubric: The student must show comprehension of quantitative variables by explaining that adjacent bars represent quantitative data, and correctly interpret that the gap at 1717 signifies a frequency of zero for that score.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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