Ch. 1 Flashcards
A major driver of requirements for statistics is
Technology available to capture data
List 3 reasons for studying statistics
- Statistical knowledge is required to make data useful
- Statistical techniques are used to make decisions
- Statistical knowledge will help you understand the world.
What are statistics
A statistic is a number used to communicate a piece of information
What is statistics (science of)
Statistics is the set of knowledge and skills used to organize, summarize, present, collect, and analyze data.
What is descriptive statistics
Methods of organizing, summarizing, and presenting data in an informative way
What are the two ways we use statistics for decision making
Descriptive and inferential
Describe inferential statistics
methods used to estimate a population on the basis of a sample
What are the two types of variables
qualitative and quantitative
What is a qualitative variable
an object or individual is observed and recorded as a nonnumeric characteristic (attribute)
What is a quantitative variable
a variable that can be reported numerically
What are the two types of quantitative variables
discrete and continuous
Describe discrete variables
They can assume only certain values, and there are gaps between the values. Counting whole numbers for example
Describe continuous variables
They can assume any value in a specific range. Usually result from measurments
What are the 4 levels of measurement
nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio
describe nominal measurments
The lowest level. Data is corded as labels or names. No order, only classified and counted.
