Data values that do not fit the pattern of the rest of the data are referred to as which of the following?

Data values that do not fit the overall pattern of the rest of the dataset are referred to as outliers. Outliers are observations that significantly differ from other observations in the data. They can arise from variability in the measurement or may indicate experimental errors; however, they can also be indicative of a novel phenomenon. Identifying outliers is crucial in data analysis because they can skew the results and lead to misleading interpretations.

Outliers may be the result of human error in data collection, measurement artifacts, or they may reflect true variability in the population. In statistical analyses, it’s important to recognize and assess the presence of outliers as their influence can significantly affect means, variances, and other statistical measures.

In contrast, other options suggest different approaches to handling these anomalies. Reinvestigating outliers might involve further examination to determine if they should be included in analyses, while categorizing them separately is a way to acknowledge their existence without necessarily altering the treatment of the remaining data. Deleting outliers entirely from the study is not always appropriate, as it may lead to a loss of valuable information or bias the results. Thus, acknowledging outliers allows for a more nuanced understanding of the dataset’s dynamics, making 'considered outliers' the most