Rolling Averages

Rolling averages, also known as moving averages, are a type of chart analysis technique used to examine survey data collected over extended periods of time, for example, in political tracking polls. They are typically utilized to smooth out data series. The ultimate purpose of rolling averages is to identify long—term trends. They are calculated by averaging a group of observations of a variable of interest over a specific period of time. Such averaged number becomes representative of that period in a trend line. It is said that these period-based averages "roll," or "move," because when a new observation is gathered over time, the oldest observation of the pool being averaged is dropped out and the most recent observation is included into the average. The collection ...