Chapter 1­2 Lecture.

notebook

MAT 308 ­ Inferential Statistics

Introduction
When called on state the following:
• Name
• Major
• Year in college
• Your superpower (if you could have one)

Chapter 1­2
Definitions
Statistics­ The science of gathering, sorting, and analyzing data.

Population­ A group of interest in a study

Sample­ A subset of the population

Variable­ A value that changes among members of the population

When performing research, is it better to

use a sample or a population?

In statistics, it is often impossible to survey an

entire population, so it is better to use a sample.

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Chapter 1­2 Lecture.notebook

th
George Read Middle School (6-8 grade) wants to determine
what percent of their students play a sport.
th
They surveyed 200 students during the 7 grade lunch and
found that 15% of all GR students play a sport.

A- What is the population?

B- What is the sample?

th
George Read Middle School (6-8 grade) wants to determine
what percent of their students play a sport.
th
They surveyed 200 students during the 7 grade lunch and
found that 15% of all GR students play a sport.

A- What is the population?

George Read Middle School students
B- What is the sample?
200 7th graders

Lena publishes a blog on bird­watching. Recently she decided

to conduct a poll among 600 of her subscribers and found that
71% of those polled have liked at least one of her blogs, they
have posted an average of 1.8 comments per blog, and 128
have liked all her blogs. According to her website, she has a
total of 12,683 subscribers, of whom 68% have liked at least
one of her blogs.

Population:
Sample:

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Lena publishes a blog on bird­watching. Recently she decided

to conduct a poll among 600 of her subscribers and found that
71% of those polled have liked at least one of her blogs, they
have posted an average of 1.8 comments per blog, and 128
have liked all her blogs. According to her website, she has a
total of 12,683 subscribers, of whom 68% have liked at least
one of her blogs.

Population: All subscribers to Lena's blog

Sample: 600 subscribers

Data­ The information gathered about a variable

Parameter­ The numerical description of a population characteristic

Sample Statistic­ A number that describes a characteristic of a sample

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Chapter 1­2 Lecture.notebook

Lena publishes a blog on bird­watching. Recently she decided

to conduct a poll among 600 of her subscribers and found that
71% of those polled have liked at least one of her blogs, they
have posted an average of 1.8 comments per blog, and 128
have liked all her blogs. According to her website, she has a
total of 12,683 subscribers, of whom 68% have liked at least
one of her blogs.

Statistics:
Parameters:

th
George Read Middle School (6-8 grade) wants to determine
what percent of their students play a sport.
th
They surveyed 200 students during the 7 grade lunch and
found that 15% of all GR students play a sport.

Is the "15% of all GR students play a sport" a parameter or

statistic?

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Chapter 1­2 Lecture.notebook

th
George Read Middle School (6-8 grade) wants to determine
what percent of their students play a sport.
th
They surveyed 200 students during the 7 grade lunch and
found that 15% of all GR students play a sport.

Is the "15% of all GR students play a sport" a parameter or

statistic?

Parameter because it refers to "all GR students."

Sampling
Simple Random Sample­ A method of data collection of size n items
in which each item is equally likely to make up the sample, just as in a
lottery

Types of Samples:
Convenience­ Not drawn by a well­defined random method

Stratified­ Population is divided into groups (strata), where the

members of each stratum are similar in some way. Then a simple
random sample is drawn from each stratum.

Cluster­ Items drawn from the population in groups, or clusters.

Systematic­ Population items are ordered.

Voluntary Response­ Population items are collected by those who

volunteer their response.

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Bias­ The degree to which a procedure systematically over or

underestimates a population value.

*It is extremely difficult to collect data that isn't somewhat biased.

Breakout groups. 5 minutes

Everyone introduce yourself to the members of your group.

Take 1 minute to read and think about the situation.
Discuss how the situation is bias (more than 1 reason per situation)
Determine who will share out when we return whole group.

th
Example: George Read Middle School (6-8 grade) wants to determine
what percent of their students play a sport. They surveyed everyone in
th
the cafeteria during the 6 grade lunch.

1. Jim works at TD Bank and wants to determine if the number of

customers coming in is roughly the same each day. He counts the number
of customers that enter the bank for 7 consecutive days.

2. A newspaper wants to know who is going to win the next election. They
decide to run an article in Tuesday's newspaper asking people to call in and
state who they are voting for.

3. Melissa wants to know the average number of minutes spent working

out during a week. She creates a poll on Facebook and sends it to all of her
friends on Facebook. She asks them to input the number of minutes they
spend working out in a week.

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Branches of Statistics
Descriptive Statistics
*Gathers, sorts, summarizes and displays the data

Inferential Statistics
*Uses descriptive statistics to estimate population parameters

For the most part, chapters 1­4 of your book deal with
descriptive,
while the rest of the book deals with inferential.

Decide whether the following statements are an

example of descriptive or inferential statistics.
*The average age of freshmen is 19.6 years old.

*Of the 1000 freshman surveyed it is determined that

75% of all freshman are taking a math class.

Decide whether the following statements are an

example of descriptive or inferential statistics.
*The average age of freshmen is 19.6 years old.
Descriptive because it is describing the data.

*Of the 1000 freshman surveyed it is determined that

75% of all freshman are taking a math class.
Inferential because the data was analyzed in order to
determine the percent.

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Data Classification
Qualitative Data (aka categorical data)
Labels or descriptions of the sample

Quantitative Data
Counts or measurements of the sample

Continuous Data
Can take on any value in a given range

Discrete Data
Can take on only particular values

What is the difference between qualitative and

quantitative data? Give an example.

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More Data Classification

Nominal Level
Qualitative that can't be put in order
Ordinal Level
Qualitative that can be put in order
Interval Level*
Quantitative, can be put in order and zero does not indicate the
absence of something
Ratio Level*
Quantitative, can be put in order and zero does indicate the
absence of something

Interval vs. Ratio

Does the zero point indicate the absence of something?

Example: If we are talking about birth year and someone was

born on year 0, they are still born. That would mean the zero
point does NOT indicate the absence of something, putting birth
year on the interval level.

If we are talking about the number of people in a household and

there is 0, then that does indicate the absence of something
(people in the house) and would be on the ratio level.

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How to Classify Data

1­ Does the data represent a number or a category?
(qualitative vs. quantitative)

2­ If it is quantitative, can the number be anything or is it

limited to specific numbers within a range?
(continuous vs. discrete)

3­ Can the data be put in order?

Determine if the following are:

a. Qualitative or quantitative
b. Discrete, continuous, or neither
c. Level of measurement

Heights of orchids on a windowsill

a.
b.
c.

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Determine if the following are:

a. Qualitative or quantitative
b. Discrete, continuous, or neither
c. Level of measurement

Heights of orchids on a windowsill

a. Quantitative
b. Continuous
c. Ratio

Graphical Displays of Data

Bar Graph: A graph using rectangular bars to show information about
discrete data.

Histogram: A graph using rectangular bars to show information

about a range of data values.

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Is this an example of a double bar graph or double histogram?

Is this an example of a double bar graph or double histogram?

double bar graph because the bars

do not represent a range of values.

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Pie Chart: A graph using "pie slices" to show relative sizes of data.

Stem­and­Leaf Plot: A graph of quantitative data that can be used to

recreate the original data using only the graph.

10's place 1's place

value value

*Ascending order for each leaf

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How many people scored a 23 on their ACT?

How many people scored a 23 on their ACT?

2

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Dot Plot: Similar to a stem­and­leaf plot, however the data cannot be

grouped together.

Analyzing Graph
There are pros and cons to all types of graphs. It is important to know
the characteristics of all graphs when determining which would be the
best kind to use.

Be sure to analyze the title, axes, and source when looking at the
appropriateness of a graph.

Shapes of Graphs:

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