Number of values: what it means and how to read it
In the report: n — The number of values (rows) the result is computed on.
How to read it
How many observations the result rests on. Compare it with the size of your sample: empty cells are left out.
In plain words
A teacher worked out the average score of a quiz and got 7.2. Before showing it to anyone, she looked at n and found 18. She had 30 students, but 12 of them left the question empty, and empty cells are left out. Now she knows the 7.2 rests on 18 answers, not 30. With so few answers she treats the result as rough and does not draw big conclusions from it. If n had come out 30, she would feel much better about the 7.2, since it would rest on the whole class.
Example
The cell with n is selected in each report; point at a label to see its note.
- — the sample data (50 rows) the examples use
- — two steps; pass is coded 0 and 1
=STATS_LOGISTIC(Data!A1:T51, "pass", "x1,x2|x", 0, 50, 1e-8) - —
=STATS_BOOTSTRAP(Data!A1:T51, "y", "x1,x2", 2000, "pairs", 0.95) - —
=STATS_PAIRED(Data!A1:T51, "before,after",0.95,"two-sided")
Where you see it
STATS_LOGISTIC— Binary logistic regression with optional ridge regularization (lambda >= 0).STATS_BOOTSTRAP— Bootstrap confidence intervals for regression via resampling.STATS_PAIRED— Paired-samples t-test for two related measurements (e.g., pre vs post).STATS_INDEPENDENT— Independent-samples t-test for two groups: the two selected columns are the groups.STATS_ONE_SAMPLE— One-sample t-test against mu0.STATS_DESCRIPTIVE— Column-wise descriptive statistics with flexible metric selection and optional column filtering.STATS_CI— Calculates the confidence interval of the mean for filtered columns (Student's t).STATS_ANALYZE— Runs several analyses on one range and returns one report.
Related values
- Sum — The sum of the values; empty for a column without a single number (the sign . in a STATS_COMPUTE row where no item is answered), not 0.
- Mean — The arithmetic mean: the sum divided by n.
- Median — The middle of the sorted values; with an even n, the mean of the two middle ones.
- Minimum — The smallest value.
- Maximum — The largest value.
Get it in your sheet
One formula in a cell gives the whole report, Number of values included. ALS Stats is a free add-on for Google Sheets™.
Install ALS Stats from Google Workspace Marketplace (opens in a new tab)