Chapter 1 - Introduction to Statistics Flashcards
What is Descriptive Statistics?
Deals with methods of organizing, summarizing and presenting data in a convenient and informative way.
What is Inferential Statistics?
A body of methods used to draw conclusions or inferences about characteristics of populations based on sample data.
What three key concepts does Statistical Inference involve
The population, the sample, the statistical inference
What is a population in statistics
A population is the group of all items of interest (could be people or objects)
What is a parameter
A parameter is a descriptive measure of a population
What is a sample
A sample is a set of data drawn from the studied population
What is a statistic
A statistic is a descriptive measure of a sample
What is statistical inference
The process of making an estimate, prediction or decision about a population based on a sample data
What is the purpose of a statistical inference when it comes to efficiency
It is far easier and cheaper to use statistical inference than to try to investigate the entire population.
What two measures are used to measure the reliability of statistical inference
Confidence level and significance level
What is the confidence level
The proportion of times that an estimating procedure will be correct, a confidence level of 95% indicates that the estimate will be correct 95% of the time.
What is the significance level
The proportion of times that an estimating procedure will be incorrect, a significance level of 10% indicates that the estimate will be wrong 10% of the time.
What is the GSS in statistics
The General Social Survey, most frequently used source of information about American society besides the U.S Census. Operational since 1972
What is the SCF in statistics
The Survey of Consumer Finances, conducted every 3 years to provide detailed information on the finances of U.S households. Operational since 1992
What are the four ways Excel can perform procedures
Statistical (probability and functions)
Spreadsheets (creating spreadsheets that calculate statistical inference methods)
Analysis ToolPak (group of procedures used in data analysis
XLSTAT (commercially created add-in that enables you to use Excel for almost all statistical procedures)
