Usage
Stem-and-leaf displays are useful for displaying the relative density and shape of the data, giving the reader a quick overview of distribution. They retain (most of) the raw numerical data, often with perfect integrity. They are also useful for highlighting outliers and finding the mode. However, stem-and-leaf displays are only useful for moderately sized data sets (around 15-150 data points). With very small data sets a stem-and-leaf displays can be of little use, as a reasonable number of data points are required to establish definitive distribution properties. A dot plot may be better suited for such data. With very large data sets, a stem-and-leaf display will become very cluttered, since each data point must be represented numerically. A box plot or histogram may become more appropriate as the data size increases.
The ease with which histograms can now be generated on computers has meant that stem-and-leaf displays are less used today than in the 1980s, when they first became widely utilized as a quick method of displaying information graphically by hand.
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