I’m not even quite sure what terms I should be using for what I want, so any advice on what I’m even asking for would be very welcome.
Basically, my web site lists user-generated accommodations. Each has a rent price, which users will be able to query in our new faceted search box.
Users search by city, and within each city I’d like to present a different rent grouping. That is to say that in City #1, if we have listings ranging from $200 – $1000, I’d like to present checkboxes for:
- less than $300
- $301 – $500
- $501 – $700
- more than $700
However, if City #2 has values that range from $500 – $1500, I want the ranges above to change accordingly. So, if I say that I want 5 or 6 range options in each city, I think I have two options:
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Take the min and max values and just split the difference. I don’t like this idea because one listing with a rent of $10,000 will throw the whole scale off.
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Intelligently calculate the ranges using means, medians etc.
Number 2 is what I need help with. I’m a web developer that gets logic, but was never strong on math and statistics at school. Can anyone point me towards a guide that’ll help me figure this out?
If you’re looking for 4 groups, you need 3 splitpoints. Take the median of your whole set to get the middle one, then the median of those above and below that to get your other two.