Lecture 1

Descriptive Statistics
What is Statistics?
The word statistics is derived from the Latin word
“state”. Early uses of statistics involved Compilations of
data and graphs describing various aspects of a
country.
In the past, statistics has been known as a science of

counting
Modern Statistics is directly concerned with the

problem of decision making under uncertainty.
Statistics is a powerful tool in the decision maker hand

to help him to have the right decision.
• Now every thing dealing with the collection,
processing, analyze and interpretation of
numerical data belongs to the domain of
statistics.
Data→processing→information
• Statistics
Is a collection of methods for obtaining data,
organizing, and then summarizing, presenting,
analyzing, interpreting and drawing
conclusions based on the data.
Types of statistics
1) Descriptive statistics:
• include every kind of data processing
which is designed to summarize and
describe important features of the data
without going any further.
• utilize numerical and graphical methods to
find patterns in the data, to summarize the
information it reveals and to present that
information in a meaningful way.
Types of statistics
2) Statistical Inference:
• Generalizing the information we have from
the sample which go behind the data on
the population.
• uses data to make estimates, decisions,
predictions, or other generalizations about
the environment from which the data were
obtained.
Inferential Statistics
• 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
Statistical concepts
Population:
is a set of objects called elements that share a
certain property, and it is the entire group to be
studied.
is the set of all items of interest in the
statistical problem, it may be finite or infinite.
Finite Population:(countable population)
A population is called finite if it is possible to count
its individuals. e.g. number of births per years and
number of words in a book. The size of the finite
population (number of units ) is denoted by N
Infinite Population (uncountable)
Sometimes it is not possible to count the
units contained in the population. The grains
of sand on the beaches of the world. The
number of germs in the body of a patient of
malaria is perhaps something which is
uncountable.
Target Population:
Suppose we have to make a study about the
problems of the families living in rented
houses is a certain big city. All the families
living in rented houses are our target
population.
Obviously, gathering data from every
individual in this population would be nearly
impossible, expensive, and time consuming.
It would be more practical to collect data
from a subset, or sample, of the population.
Sample: is a subset of data selected
from the population.
If the sample is unbiased, the sample data
can be used to make inferences about the
population.
In order for a sample to be unbiased, it must
be: representative of the population -
randomly selected - sufficiently large
Population:
Is the complete collector of all elements ( people,
scores,…,etc) to be studied
Sample
Is a sub collection of members selected from a population
using a survey
Census
Is the collection of data from every member of the
population.
Parameter:
is a characteristic or measure obtained by using all the
data values for a specific population.
is a numerical measurement describing some
characteristics of a population.
Ex: Average age of all people in Egypt.
Statistic:
is a characteristic or measure obtained by using the data
values from a sample.
is a numerical measurement describing some
characteristics of a sample.
Ex:
Average age of people from a sample of two governorates
Exercise
a) Identify the sample and population in the following
statements:
1. A public relation employee in the Modern Academy
asks 10 students if they feel that the current subjects are
benefit.
2. In a Health survey, 9612 women randomly selected,
95% answered “yes” when asked “Do you have an
electricity in your home”.
b) Determine whether the given value is a statistic or a
parameter:
1. A sample of students is selected and the average

amount of time spending in the lab this semester is 2
hour per day.
2. The current rate of unemployment in Egypt is 10.7%.
Types of Variables
Variate (Variable): is any quantity or attribute
whose value varies from one unit of
investigation to another.
For example: Tossing a coin { H, T}
: Rolling a die {1,2,….,6}
: Age
: Weight – Height
• Qualitative Variable: is a variable whose
values cannot be put in any numerical
order.
Such as: place of birth, Grades, sex (
M,F) and tossing a coin (H,T)
a) Nominal variable: place of birth, gender
b) Ordinal variable: Grades,

• Quantitative Variable: is a variable whose
values can be put in numerical order.
Such as: weight, birth, salary,……
quantitative variate can also be divided into
two types:
a) Continuous Variable:
is a variable which may take all values
within a given range.
such as: lengths of some students
160<X<190
b) Discrete Variable :
is a variable which have a finite number
of possible values
Such as: number of children in the family.
number of rooms
Exercise
Classify the following data as quantitative or qualitative
then continuous, discrete, nominal and ordinal:
• number of errors per student in a spelling test,

• number of fish in a pond,
• eye color,
• course grade,
• survey response (yes, no),
• gender (male/ female),
• the amount of milk from cows.
• the month in which a firm’s employees choose to
take their vacations.

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Descriptive Statistics

In the past, statistics has been known as a science of

Modern Statistics is directly concerned with the

Statistics is a powerful tool in the decision maker hand

Inference is the process of drawing

1. A sample of students is selected and the average

a) Nominal variable: place of birth, gender

b) Ordinal variable: Grades,

• number of errors per student in a spelling test,

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