08 Jul Using Analytic Techniques to Add Meaning to Data
Download data on a company’s stock history. From this data, create scatterplots, histograms, and calculate the mean, median, mode, and standard deviation of some data points. Write a 3-5-page report including the graphs and descriptive statistics you have created.
Instructions
• Select a business of which you are a part or in which you have interest and download the raw data on the company’s stock history. Any business that has practical meaning for you is appropriate for this assessment.
• Follow these steps to locate and download stock history from Yahoo! Finance:
1. Go to Yahoo Finance.
2. Search for and find the stock of the company you have chosen.
3. Click on the “Historical Data” tab. Then select the following settings above the table:
o Select Time Period of one year.
o Select “Historical Prices.”
o Select Frequency as “Daily.”
4. Click Apply.
5. Click on “Download Data.” Go to the bottom of your screen or your Downloads folder to open the Excel file you just downloaded. Open the Excel file. Check to be sure that you have enough lines to show the whole year. If not, reset the settings at the top of the Historical Data chart and try again.
6. Once you are sure that you have a year’s worth of data, save the Excel file.
• Using the Excel file with the year’s stock data, conduct descriptive analysis as follows:
1. Create a scatterplot of the highest stock price (in the column labeled “High”) against time. Write a sentence explaining the process by which you created this graph.
2. Create a scatterplot of the lowest stock price (in the column labeled “Low”) against time. Write a sentence explaining the process by which you created this graph.
3. Create a histogram of the adjusted daily closing stock price (in the column labeled “Adj Close”). Make sure the histogram is meaningful by adjusting the bin size so you can see the shape of the histogram. Write a sentence explaining the process by which you created this graph.
4. Create a histogram of the stock trading volume (in the column labeled “Volume”). Make sure the histogram is meaningful by adjusting the bin size so you can see the shape of the histogram. Write a sentence explaining the process by which you created this graph.
5. Calculate the mean, median, mode, and standard deviation of the adjusted daily closing stock price. Write a sentence explaining the process by which you calculated these statistics.
6. Calculate the mean, median, mode, and standard deviation of the stock volume. Write a sentence explaining the process by which you calculated these statistics.
FORMAT
• Prepare a report that you would present to your supervisor, including the following:
o An APA-formatted title page.
o A one-page introduction of your chosen company, including the company background and practical business context. Describe the company background and a detailed business context to give a well-rounded view of the company in the marketplace.
Create four different graphical representations of the data that are professionally formatted and clearly labeled, including scatterplots and histograms.
Calculate descriptive statistics for two variables, including mean, median, mode, and standard deviations, that are clearly labeled and professionally presented.
Detail summaries of the processes by which each graph and statistic were created and calculated in language that shows an advanced understanding of the concepts.
