truncate

(verb)

To shorten something as if by cutting off part of it.

Related Terms

  • distribution
  • bias

Examples of truncate in the following topics:

  • Misleading Graphs

    • A truncated graph has a y-axis that does not start at zero.
    • Graphs may also be truncated to save space.
    • Commercial software such as MS Excel will tend to truncate graphs by default if the values are all within a narrow range.
    • Both of these graphs display identical data; however, in the truncated bar graph on the left, the data appear to show significant differences, whereas in the regular bar graph on the right, these differences are hardly visible.
    • Criticize the practices of excessive usage, biased labeling, improper scaling, truncating, and the addition of a third dimension that often result in misleading graphs.
  • Interpreting Distributions Constructed by Others

    • A truncated graph has a y-axis that does not start at 0.
    • Note that both of these graphs display identical data; however, in the truncated bar graph on the left, the data appear to show significant differences, whereas in the regular bar graph on the right, these differences are hardly visible.
  • Chance Models

    • Truncating and censoring of data can also be estimated using stochastic models.
Subjects
  • Accounting
  • Algebra
  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Microbiology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • World History
  • Writing

Except where noted, content and user contributions on this site are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution required.