The distribution describes the “shape” of a dataset. By plotting all observed values for one variable on a graph from lowest to highest, you can see how many people had each value. Plotting the data on a histogram like this is often a first step in “getting to know” your data. The distribution gives you an idea about the central tendency (e.g., mean) and the spread (e.g., standard deviation) of the data.

For an example, refer to: normal distribution

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