Analysis - population, economic, spatial, statistic Flashcards
Three steps in Stats process
- Collect data
- describe & summarize the distribution of values
- Interpret by inferential stats or modeling & draw conclusions
Nominal Data
classified into mutually exclusive groups or categories & lack intrinsic order. ex: zoning classifications, sex, ssn
Ordinal Data
ordered categories implying a ranking of observations. ex: letter grades, response scales
Interval Data
data that has an order relationship where the difference between the scales has meaningful interpretation. ex: temperature. the difference between 20 and 30 degrees and 30 and 40 degrees is the same but 20 degrees is not twice as cold as 40 degrees.
Ratio Data
gold standard of measurement where both absolute and relative differences have a meaning. ex: distance measure. The difference between 30 miles and 40 miles is the same as the difference between 20 miles and 30 miles and 40 miles is twice as far as 20 miles.
Types of Variables
Quantitative
Qualitative
Continuous
Discrete
Quantitative variable
numeric- represents a measurable quantity
ex: household income
Qualitative variable
categorical - represents names or labels fit into categories
ex: zoning classifications
Continuous variable
infinite number of values, positive or negative
Discrete variable
finite number of discrete values. only integer values. ex: car accidents/month
Binary or Dichotomous variables
only two values and are typically coded as 0 or 1
sample
a subset of the population
Descriptive statistics
describe the characteristics of the distribution of values in a population or in a sample
inferential statistics
uses a small sample of data to draw inferences about the larger population that the sample came from
distribution
overall shape of observed data
ex: table, histogram, density plot
