Module 1.1 Flashcards
Statistics
Science of data
Involves collecting, classifying, summarizing, organizing, analyzing & interpreting information
What is data?
Anything where information can be collected and analyzed (people, numerical information, geographical areas, spending habits, etc)
Element
A unique and individual part of a data set
Variable
A particular attribute or attributes given to the elements in a study
What is an observation?
all information that is collected from each element in a study
What are the two types of data?
qualitative (categorical) or quantitative (numerical)
Qualitative data
(categorical)
data of observations that cannot be measured with numbers…they can only be classified into one group of categories (age, gender, opinion, brand of toothpaste)
*can be numerical or non-numerical (people rating something on a scale of 1-5 would be qualitative data
Quantitative (numerical)
data measurements that are recorded on a naturally occurring numerical scale (salary, grade point average, the number of pets you own, the amount of your paycheck)
*always answers the questions of how much or how many
*mathematical operations only make sense when performed on quantitative data
Descriptive Statistics
Utilizes graphical and numerical data
When is Statistical Inference used?
When you are trying to study a population or another large group of elements, you must use a “sample” that is representative of the larger population.
You can than make inferences/conclusions about the larger population based on the sample
What is a sample?
- a smaller group used in a population
What is a population?
a large group of elements in a particular study
What is inferential statistics?
Methods and tools to examine data used in statistical inference
Mean or average
Used in descriptive statistics
What is the difference between inferential statistics and statistical inference?
Inferential statistics = methods
Statistical inference = uses methods to draw conclusions about a population from the sample
