What are the merits and demerits of the scatter diagram?
Merits of Scatter Diagram
1. Simplicity: It is a simple and non-mathematical method of studying the correlation between the two variables.
2. Easily understandable: It can be easily understood and interpreted. It enables us to know the presence or absence of correlation at a single glance of the diagram.
3. Not affected by extreme items: It is not influenced by the size of extreme values, whereas most of the mathematical methods lack this quality.
4. First Step: It is a step in investigating the relationship between two variables.
Demerits of Scatter Diagram
1. Non-mathematical method: This method does not indicate the exact numerical value of correlation which is possible by other mathematical methods of correlation.
2. Rough Measure: It gives only a broad and rough idea of the degree and nature of the correlation between two variables. Thus, it is only a qualitative expression rather than a quantitative expression.
3. Unsuitable for large observations: It is not possible to draw a scatter diagram on a graph paper in case of more than two variables.