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STA101 - Lecture Note 1

Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing, summarizing, presenting, and analyzing data. It allows us to draw conclusions about populations based on a sample of data. There are two main types of statistics - descriptive statistics, which summarizes and analyzes a data set, and inferential statistics, which uses sample data to make estimates about a larger population. Statistics has many important uses across fields like surveys, government, science, business, and more. It helps optimize resources and make data-driven decisions.

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220 views3 pages

STA101 - Lecture Note 1

Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing, summarizing, presenting, and analyzing data. It allows us to draw conclusions about populations based on a sample of data. There are two main types of statistics - descriptive statistics, which summarizes and analyzes a data set, and inferential statistics, which uses sample data to make estimates about a larger population. Statistics has many important uses across fields like surveys, government, science, business, and more. It helps optimize resources and make data-driven decisions.

Uploaded by

Adonia Sama
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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STA101: Lecture Note 1

What is Statistics?
It is difficult to define statistics in a few words; since its dimension, scope, function, use and

importance are constantly changing over time. No formal definition thus has emerged so far and no

definition is perhaps beyond controversy.

Statistics is learning from data or Statistics is a way to get information from data. Consider

the following types of statements:

● In 2019, approximately 861.5 million gallons of regular ice cream were produced in the U.S.
(www.statista.com)
● The Apple brand ranked second the most valuable companies worldwide in 2019 with a brand
value of 309.53 billion U.S. dollars. (www.statista.com)
● In the first quarter of 2020, Netflix revealed that it had 69.97 million paying streaming
subscribers in the United States and Canada. (www.statista.com)

The numerical facts in the preceding statements (861.5 million gallons; $309.53 billion; 69.97
million people) are called statistics.

In a broad sense we can say, Statistics refers to the scientific methods for collecting, organizing,
summarizing, presenting, and analyzing data, and drawing a valid conclusion.

Example:

Evan wants to know something about a group of people by surveying. The first thing Evan has to
do is collect data (what he gets is random raw data which is not organized). So, Evan has to
organize the data (maybe using tables which have various rows and columns) and after that he
may even use graphs (Bar diagram, pie chart, histogram, line diagram etc.) to notice a particular
trend and get a bird eye view about the data. That means he is presenting data in an organized
way. He did it so that he could analyze the data better. He may have found out many things like
the maximum value, minimum value, average value, difference value and so on. Based on that he
makes a valid conclusion or interprets the results about the data he collected from the group of
people. That’s how five stages work simply.

If you have a question about something you need the answer to just these five statistical stages you
will get your desired answers.

Types of Statistics
❑ Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics focuses on collection, summarization, presentation and analysis of the data

using suitable numerical and graphical methods to look for patterns in a data set.

Example:

Suppose you want to find the average age of a BRAC University student. So, you ask all the
students or a portion of students their age and then present it in an organized way. After that you
add all the ages and divide by the total no of students from whom you took the data. Basically,
you are calculating their average age. Let’s say you found the value is 22.5 years. These all stages
are a part of descriptive statistics.

❑ Inferential Statistics

Methods for making a valid conclusion of a population on the basis of a sample data.

Inferential statistics utilizes sample data to make estimates, decisions, predictions, or other

generalizations about a larger set of data (population).

Example: Based on a sample of 100 students, the administrations estimate the average

age of all the students in the college to be 23.5. That means after estimating a value

(applying descriptive statistics methods) the authority makes a valid conclusion or


interpretation about the ages of students.

Uses and importance of Statistics and Statisticians:

The scope and uses of statistics are so wide and universal that they can’t be enumerated instantly in a
few words. Statistics has now been recognized as a separate discipline of human knowledge in its own
right.

Statistics has it extensive application in the following fields:


1. Surveys:
○ Determine which political candidate is more popular.
○ Discover what foods teenagers prefer for breakfast
○ Estimate the number of children living in a given school district

2. Government Operation:
Government often conducts experiments to aid in the development of public policy and
social programs. Such experiments include:
○ Consumer price
○ Fluctuations in the economy
○ Employment patterns
○ Population trends
○ Opinion polls

3. Scientific research:
Statistical sciences are used to enhance the validity of inference in all the fields of science,
medical science etc. Such as:
○ Radio carbon dating to estimate the risk of earthquakes
○ Clinical trials to investigate the effectiveness of new treatments
○ Field experiments to evaluate the irrigation methods
○ Measurements of water quality

4. Business and Industry:


Statisticians using statistical tools quantify the unknowns in order to optimize resources.
They:
○ Predict the demand for products and services.
○ Check the quality of items manufactured in a facility
○ Manage investment portfolios. And so on.

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