MODULE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WITH SOFTWARE APPLICATION – CAE11

CHAPTER 1: Introduction to Statistical Concepts

Objectives:
1. Enumerate the importance and limitations of statistics.
.
2. Know the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics.
3. Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative variables.

DEFINITION OF STATISTICS

Statistics plays a major role in many aspects of our lives. It is used in sports, for example, to help a
general manager decide which player might be the best fit for a team. It is used in politics to help candidates
understand how the public feels about various policies. And statistics is used in medicine to help determine
the effectiveness of new drugs. Used appropriately, statistics can enhance our understanding of the world
around us. Used inappropriately, it can lend support to inaccurate beliefs. Understanding statistical methods
will provide you with the ability to analyze and critique studies and the opportunity to become an informed
consumer of information. Understanding statistical methods will also enable you to distinguish solid analysis
from bogus “facts.”
Many people say that statistics is numbers. After all, we are bombarded by numbers that supposedly
represent how we feel and who we are. Certainly, statistics has a lot to do with numbers, but this definition is
only partially correct. Statistics is also about where the numbers come from (that is, how they were obtained)
and how closely the numbers
reflect reality.
Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing, summarizing, and analyzing information to draw
conclusions or answer questions. In addition, statistics is about providing a measure of confidence in any
conclusions.
Let’s break this definition into four parts. The first part states that statistics involves the collection of
information. The second refers to the organization and summarization of information. The third states that
the information is analyzed to draw conclusions or answer specific questions. The fourth part states that
results should be reported using some measure that represents how convinced we are that our conclusions
reflect reality.

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• Statistics is important because it enables people to make decisions based on empirical evidence.
• Statistics provides us with tools needed to convert massive data into pertinent information that can be used
in decision making.
• Statistics can provide us information that we can use to make sensible decisions.

What information is referred to in the definition?

The information referred to the definition is the data. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, data are
“factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation”.
Data can be numerical, as in height, or nonnumerical, as in gender. In either case, data describe
characteristics of an individual.

Field of Statistics
A. Mathematical Statistics- The study and development of statistical theory and methods in the abstract.
B. Applied Statistics- The application of statistical methods to solve real problems involving randomly
generated data and the development of new statistical methodology motivated by real problems. Example
branches of Applied S t a t i s t i c s : psychometric, econometrics, and biostatistics.

Limitation of Statistics
1. Statistics is not suitable to the study of qualitative phenomenon.
2. Statistics does not study individuals.
3. Statistical laws are not exact.
4. Statistics table may be misused.
5. Statistics is only, one of the methods of studying a problem.

Definitions:
• Universe is the set of all entities under study.
• A Population is the total or entire group of individuals or observations from which information is desired by
a researcher. Apart from persons, a population may consist of mosquitoes, villages, institution, etc.
• An individual is a person or object that is a member of the population being studied.
• A statistic is a numerical summary of a sample.

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• Sample is the subset of the population.

• Descriptive statistics consist of organizing and summarizing data. Descriptive statistics describe data
through numerical summaries, tables, and graphs.
• Inferential statistics uses methods that take a result from a sample, extend it to the population, and measure
the reliability of the result.
• A parameter is a numerical summary of a population

Example: Consider the Scenario.

You are walking down the street and notice that a person walking in front of you drops PHP100. Nobody
seems to notice the PHP100 except you. Since you could keep the money without anyone knowing, would
you keep the money or return it to the owner? Suppose you wanted to use this scenario as a gauge of the
morality of students at your school by determining the percent of students who would return the money. How
might you do this? You could attempt to present the scenario to every student at the school, but this would
be difficult or impossible if the student body is large. A second possibility is to present the scenario to 50
students and use the results to make a statement about all the students at the school.

In the PHP100 study presented, the population is all the students at the school. Each student is an individual.
The sample is the 50 students selected to participate in the study. Suppose 39 of the 50 students stated that
they would return the money to the owner. We could present this result by saying that the percent of
students in the survey who would return the money to the owner is 78%. This is an example of a descriptive
statistic because it describes the results of the sample without making any general conclusions about the
population. So 78% is a statistic because it is a numerical summary based on a sample. Descriptive statistics
make it easier to get an overview of what the data are telling us.

If we extend the results of our sample to the population, we are performing inferential statistics. The
generalization contains uncertainty because a sample cannot tell us everything about a population.
Therefore, inferential statistics includes a level of confidence in the results. So rather than saying that 78%
of all students would return the money, we might say that we are 95% confident that between 74% and 82%
of all students would return the money. Notice how this inferential statement includes a level of confidence

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(measure of reliability) in our results. It also includes a range of values to account for the variability in our
results. One goal of inferential statistics is to use statistics to estimate parameters.

PROCESS OF STATISTICS
1. Identify the research objective.
A researcher must determine the question(s) he or she wants answered. The question(s) must clearly identify
the population that is to be studied. Identify the research objective.
2. Collect the information needed to answer the questions.
Conducting research on an entire population is often difficult and expensive, so we typically look at a sample.
This step is vital to the statistical process, because if the data are not collected correctly, the conclusions
drawn are meaningless. Do not overlook the importance of appropriate data collection.
Example:
A research objective is presented. For each research objective, identify the population and sample in the
study.
1. The Philippine Mental Health Associations contacts 1,028 teenagers who are 13 to 17 years of age and
live in Antipolo City and asked whether or not they had been prescribed medications for any mental disorders,
such as depression or anxiety.

Population: Teenagers 13 to 17 years of age who live in Antipolo City

Sample: 1,028 teenagers 13 to 17 years of age who live in Antipolo City

1. A farmer wanted to learn about the weight of his soybean crop. He randomly sampled 100 plants and
weighted the soybeans on each plant.
Population: Entire soybean crop
Sample: 100 selected soybean crop
3. Organize and summarize the information.
Descriptive statistics allow the researcher to obtain an overview of the data and can help determine the type
of statistical methods the researcher should use.
4. Draw conclusion from the information.

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In this step the information collected from the sample is generalized to the population. Inferential statistics
uses methods that takes results obtained from a sample, extends them to the population, and measures the
reliability of the result.

Take Note!
If the entire population is studied, then inferential statistics is not necessary, because descriptive statistics
will provide all the information that we need regarding the population.
Example:
For the following statements, decide whether it belongs to the field of descriptive statistics or inferential
statistics.
1. A badminton player wants to know his average score for the past 10 games.
(Descriptive Statistics)
2. A car manufacturer wishes to estimate the average lifetime of batteries by testing a sample of 50 batteries.
(Inferential Statistics)
3. Janine wants to determine the variability of her six exam s cores in Algebra.
(Descriptive Statistics)
4. A shipping company wishes to estimate the number of passengers traveling via their ships next year using
their data on the number of passengers in the past three years. (Inferential Statistics)
5. A politician wants to determine the total number of votes his rival obtained in the past election based on
his copies of the tally sheet of electoral returns.
(Descriptive Statistics)

DISTINCTION BETWEEN QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE VARIABLES

Variables are the characteristics of the individuals within the population. For example, recently my
mother and I planted a tomato plant in our backyard. We collected information about the tomatoes harvested
from the plant. The individuals we studied were the tomatoes. The variable that interested us was the weight
of a tomato. My mom noted that the tomatoes had different weights even though they came from the same
plant. She discovered that variables such as weight may vary.
If variables did not vary, they would be constants, and statistical inference would not be necessary.
Think about it this way: If each tomato had the same weight, then knowing the weight of one tomato would

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allow us to determine the weights of all tomatoes. However, the weights of the tomatoes vary. One goal of
research is to learn the causes of the variability so that we can learn to grow plants that yield the best
tomatoes.
It is helpful to divide variables into different types, as different statistical methods are applicable to each. The
main division is into qualitative (or categorical) or quantitative (or numerical variables).
Variables can be classified into two groups:
1. Qualitative variables (Categorical) is variable that yields categorical responses. It is a word or a code that
represents a class or category.
2. Quantitative variables (Numeric) takes on numerical values representing an amount or quantity.
Example:
Determine whether the following variables are qualitative or quantitative.
1. Haircolor (Qualitative)
2. Temperature (Quantitative)
3. Stages of breast cancer (Qualitative)
4. Number of hamburger sold (Quantitative)
5. Number of children (Quantitative)
6. Zip code (Qualitative)
7. Place of birth (Qualitative)
8. Degree of pain (Qualitative)

DISTINCTION BETWEEN DISCRETE AND CONTINUOUS

Quantitative variables may be further classified into:
1. A discrete variable is a quantitative variable that either a finite number of possible values or a countable
number of possible values. If you count to get the value of a quantitative variable, it is discrete.
2. A continuous variable is a quantitative variable that has an infinite number of possible values that are not
countable. If you measure to get the value of a quantitative variable, it is continuous.
Example:
Determine whether the following quantitative variables are discrete or continuous.
1. The number of heads obtained after flipping a coin five times. (Discrete)
2. The number of cars that arrive at a McDonald’s drive-through between 12:00P.M and 1:00 P.M. (Discrete)

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3. The distance of a 2005 Toyota Prius can travel in city conditions with a full tank of gas. (Continuous)
4. Number of words correctly spelled. (Discrete)
5. Time of a runner to finish one lap. (Continuous)

It is important to know which type of scale is represented by your data since different statistics are appropriate
for different scales of measurement. A characteristic may be measured using nominal, ordinal, interval and
ration scales.
1. Nominal Level - They are sometimes called categorical scales or categorical data. Such a scale classifies
persons or objects into two or more categories. Whatever the basis for classification, a person can only be in
one category, and members of a given category have a common set of characteristics.
Example:
- Method of payment (cash, check, debit card, credit card)
- Type of school (public vs. private)
- Eye Color (Blue, Green, Brown)
2. Ordinal Level - This involves data that may be arranged in some order, but differences between data values
either cannot be determined or meaningless. An ordinal scale not only classifies subjects but also ranks them

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in terms of the degree to which they possess a characteristic of interest. In other words, an ordinal scale puts
the subjects in order from highest to lowest, from most to least. Although ordinal scales indicate that some
subjects are higher, or lower than others, they do not indicate how much higher or how much better.
Example:
- Food Preferences
- Stage of Disease
- Social Economic Class (First, Middle, Lower)
- Severity of Pain

3. Interval Level - This is a measurement level not o n l y c l a s s i f i e s a n d o r d e r s t h e measurements,

but it also specifies that the distances between each interval on the scale are equivalent along the scale from
low interval to high interval. A value of zero does not mean the absence of the quantity. Arithmetic operations
such as addition and subtraction can be performed on values of the variable.
Example:
- Temperature on Fahrenhei t /Celsius Thermometer
- Trait anxiety (e.g., high anxious vs. low anxious)
- IQ (e.g., high IQ vs. average IQ vs. low IQ)
4. Ratio Level - A ratio scale represents the highest, most precise, level of measurement. It has the properties
of the interval level of measurement and the ratios of the values of the variable have meaning. A value of
zero means the absence of the quantity. Arithmetic operations such as multiplication and division
can be performed on the values of the variable.
Example:
- Height and weight
- Time
- Time until death
Operations that make sense for variables of different scales.

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Both interval and ratio data involve measurement. Most data analysis techniques that apply to ratio data also
apply to interval data. Therefore, in most practical aspects, these types of data (interval and ratio) are grouped
under metric data. In some other instances, these type of data are also known as numerical discrete and
numerical continuous.
Example:
Categorize each of the following as nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio measurement.
1. Ranking of college athletic teams.(Ordinal)
2. Employee number. (Nominal)
3. Number of vehicles registered. (Ratio)
4. Brands of soft drinks. (Nominal)
5. Number of car passers along C5 on a given day. (Ratio)
6. Zip code (Nominal)
7. Degree of pain (Ordinal)

For more knowledge about this lesson, please check the link provided;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxQaBpKfDRk

REFERENCES

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/statistics.asp

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