Final answer:
The second step after determining the central tendency with mean and median is to calculate the variability of your data using the range, quartiles, and standard deviation. Graphing your data with histograms or box plots is also essential for a visual assessment of the distribution.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first step to take to analyze your data is to gather the mean and median to determine the central tendency of your data set. Once you have these measurements, the second step is to investigate the spread or variability of the data. This step often involves calculating measures such as the range, quartiles, and the standard deviation.
These measures provide information on how much the data varies and the distribution of data points around the mean.
Particularly, calculating the standard deviation helps in understanding the average distance of data points from the mean, which is crucial for identifying the dispersion within the data.
For skewed distributions, where the mean is sensitive to extreme values, the median, quartiles, and graphical representations like box plots become even more important for conveying data variability and structure.
It is essential to graph your data, for instance, by creating a histogram or a box plot, to visually assess the distribution and identify any potential outliers.