Mathematics in the Modern World

Lesson 10

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management
 Data are everywhere.

 Statistical techniques are used to make many decisions that

affect our lives

 No matter what your career, you will make professional

decisions that involve data. An understanding of statistical
methods will help you make these decisions effectively.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

1. The word statistics is used in either two senses.
 Commonly used to refer to data.
 Principles and methods which have been developed for
handling numerical data.

2. Statistics
is defined as a branch of mathematics or science
that deals with the collection, analysis and interpretation of
numerical information.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 3. Statistics changes numbers into information.

4. Statistics is the art and science of deciding:

what are the appropriate data to collect,
deciding how to collect data efficiently
using data to give information,
using data to answer questions,
using data to make decisions.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

5. Statistics” are data obtained by collecting, processing,
compiling, analyzing, publishing and disseminating results,
gathered from respondents through statistical collections or
from administrative data

6.Statistics is making decisions when there is uncertainty.

 We have to make decisions all the time,
 in everyday life,
 as part of our jobs.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

7. Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the
collection,
analysis,
interpretation or explanation, and
presentation of data.
8. Statistics are used for making informed decisions
 and misused for other reasons

9. Statistics is the science of learning from data.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

The word statistics is believed to have been derived
from the word “states”. The administration of
states required the collection and analysis of data
of population and wealth for the purpose of war and
finance.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Some concepts of statistics were developed by students of
games of chance, such games lean on probability.

 The fertile grounds for application and development of

statistical methods included; insurance, biology and other
natural sciences.

 To date, there is hardly any discipline which does not find

statistics useful. Economics, sociology, business, agriculture,
health and education; all lean heavily upon statistics.
Applications of statistical concepts
in the business world
 Finance – correlation and regression, index numbers, time
series analysis
 Marketing – hypothesis testing, chi-square tests,
nonparametric statistics
 Personnel – hypothesis testing, chi-square tests,
nonparametric tests
 Operating management – hypothesis testing, estimation,
analysis of variance, time series analysis

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Descriptive statistics – Methods of organizing,
summarizing, and presenting data in an informative way
 Inferential statistics – The methods used to determine
something about a population on the basis of a sample
 Population –The entire set of individuals or objects of interest
or the measurements obtained from all individuals or objects
of interest
 Sample – A portion, or part, of the population of interest

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management
 Estimation
 e.g., Estimate the population
mean weight using the sample
mean weight
 Hypothesis testing
 e.g., Test the claim that the
population mean weight is 70 kg

Inference is the process of drawing conclusions or making

decisions about a population based on sample results

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

1. Primary sources.
Censuses
Surveys
Experiments

The great advantage of such data is that the exact

information wanted is obtained.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Secondary Sources.
Often data is picked from reports and publications
of researchers, institutions and organizations. Such
data is referred to as secondary.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Statistics is a discipline which was developed to extract
relevant facts from a large body of information and to help
people make decisions when uncertainty exists concerning
the information.
Statistics form the basis for planning. Statistics provide
information and data (facts and figures) as an input for
planning, monitoring and evaluation of programmes.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management
 Design Enumerators collect
questionnaire data in the field

Design
survey Manual checking,
Conception editing etc.
Reporting of results

Data entered
Data onto computer
analysis

Computer data management

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

  Identify the relevant Indicators
 Check to ensure the existence of an appropriate
Sampling Frame
 Choose the Sample Design [Methodology]
 Determine the Sample size and the associated cost of
the survey
 Train data collectors
 Determine how to collect, process, and analyse the data

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Determine the work-plan closely linking it to the budget.
 Consider the financial, material, and human resource
available
 All these must be well perceived and well arranged at
this stage. A failure can derail the survey.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Data could be collected by:
 conducting a census
 conducting a sample survey
 use of administrative records
 conducting experiments
 observation
 and review of secondary sources

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 STEP 1
Formulate the problem
 Develop objectives of data collection
 Plan, human resource, logistics, scheduling, budgeting
 Discuss with stakeholders

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

STEP 2
Determine sources of information
 Define approach to data collection
 Identify concepts, definitions and classifications to be
used

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

STEP 3:
Determine techniques of data collection
Determine best approach to data collection

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

STEP 4:
Prepare data collection forms
 Design data collection forms

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

STEP 5:
Pretest data collection instruments
 Collect some information to refine the
questionnaire/ data collection form.
 Determine feasibility of obtaining data

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

STEP 6:
Finalize data collection forms
 Discuss final questionnaire/form with stakeholders
and reproduce questionnaires/forms

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

STEP 7:
Collect data
 Put in place a team of data collectors/
fieldworkers
 Train data collectors

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Data collection techniques allow us to systematically collect
information about our objects of study; and about the
setting in which they occur.

Data collection techniques generate both qualitative and

quantitative data.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Qualitative techniques of data collection involve the
identification and exploration of a number of related
variables for in-depth understanding of the phenomena.

Qualitative data is often recorded in a narrative form.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Quantitative techniques of data collection are used to
generate quantifiable data.

Both qualitative and quantitative techniques are often used

in a single study, since the two compliment each other.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

The qualitative methods most commonly used
in evaluation can be classified in three broad
categories:
 In-depth interview
 Observation methods
 Document review

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

  These methods are characterized by the
following attributes:
They tend to be open-ended and
have less structured protocols
They rely more heavily on
interactive interviews;

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 They use triangulation to increase the credibility
of their findings

 Generally, their findings are not generalizable to

any specific population

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 In-Depth interview
 Participant observation
 Direct observation
 Document/literature review

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Typical quantitative data gathering
strategies include:
 Experiments/clinical trials.
 Observing and recording well-defined events (e.g., counting the
number of patients waiting in emergency at specified times of the day).

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Obtaining relevant data from management information
systems.
 Administering surveys with closed-ended questions
STEPS
Cleaning and organizing the data for analysis
(Data Preparation)
Describing the data (Descriptive Statistics)
Testing Hypotheses and Models (Inferential
Statistics)
a sample should have the same characteristics
as the population it is representing.
Sampling can be:
with replacement: a member of the population may be chosen more than once
(picking the candy from the bowl)
 without replacement: a member of the population may be chosen only once
(lottery ticket)

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Sampling methods can be:
random (each member of the population has an equal
chance of being selected)
nonrandom

The actual process of sampling causes sampling

errors. For example, the sample may not be large
enough or representative of the population. Factors not
related to the sampling process cause nonsampling
errors. A defective counting device can cause a
nonsampling error.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 simple random sample (each sample of the same size has an equal
chance of being selected)
 stratified sample (divide the population into groups called strata and
then take a sample from each stratum)
 cluster sample (divide the population into strata and then randomly
select some of the strata. All the members from these strata are in
the cluster sample.)
 systematic sample (randomly select a starting point and take every n-
th piece of data from a listing of the population)

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Collect data
 e.g., Survey

Present data
 e.g., Tables and graphs

Summarize data
 e.g., Sample mean =
X i

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 The collection of data that are relevant to the problem being studied
is commonly the most difficult, expensive, and time-consuming part
of the entire research project.
 Statistical data are usually obtained by counting or measuring items.
 Primary data are collected specifically for the analysis desired
 Secondary data have already been compiled and are available for
statistical analysis
 A variable is an item of interest that can take on many different
numerical values.
 A constant has a fixed numerical value.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Statistical data are usually obtained by counting or measuring items. Most data can be
put into the following categories:
 Qualitative - data are measurements that each fail into one of several categories.
(hair color, ethnic groups and other attributes of the population)
 quantitative - data are observations that are measured on a numerical scale
(distance traveled to college, number of children in a family, etc.)

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Qualitative data are generally described by words or
letters. They are not as widely used as quantitative data
because many numerical techniques do not apply to the
qualitative data. For example, it does not make sense to
find an average hair color or blood type.
Qualitative data can be separated into two subgroups:
 dichotomic (if it takes the form of a word with two options (gender -
male or female)
 polynomic (if it takes the form of a word with more than two options
(education - primary school, secondary school and university).

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Quantitative data are always numbers and are the
result of counting or measuring attributes of a population.
Quantitative data can be separated into two
subgroups:
 discrete (if it is the result of counting (the number of students of a
given ethnic group in a class, the number of books on a shelf, ...)
 continuous (if it is the result of measuring (distance traveled, weight
of luggage, …)

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Variables

Qualitative Quantitative

Dichotomic Polynomic Discrete Continuous

Children in family, Amount of income

Gender, marital Brand of Pc, hair
Strokes on a golf tax paid, weight
status color
hole of a student

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Nominal – consist of categories in each of which the number of respective
observations is recorded. The categories are in no logical order and have
no particular relationship. The categories are said to be mutually
exclusive since an individual, object, or measurement can be included in
only one of them.
Ordinal – contain more information. Consists of distinct categories in
which order is implied. Values in one category are larger or smaller than
values in other categories (e.g. rating-excelent, good, fair, poor)
Interval – is a set of numerical measurements in which the distance
between numbers is of a known, sonstant size.
Ratio – consists of numerical measurements where the distance between
numbers is of a known, constant size, in addition, there is a nonarbitrary
zero point.

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Checking the data for completeness accuracy

 Preparing data entry screen

 Entering the data into the computer

 Transforming the data

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Used to describe the basic features of the data in a study
 Tables and Graphs

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 They provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures.

 Simply describing what is; what the data shows

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Measures of Central Tendency

 Mean, median, mode

 Measures of Dispersion

 Variation

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Look at the oddities in the data and be prepared to adapt
the summaries you calculate
 Look at the data using tables and graphs
 Understand how to summarise the categorical variables
 Understand how to summarise the numerical variables
 Identify any structure in your data and use it to summarise
your data

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Investigate questions, models and hypotheses.

 Confidence Intervals

 Hypothesis testing

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

Data Management

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management

 Formulate a question
Example: What is the favorite color among mothers
in our neighborhood?
 Collect Data
 Present Data
 Interpret the Data

Mathematics in the Modern World Lesson 10 – Data Management