FACULTY OF PRE-MEDICAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

LECTURE ONE: M1002 INTRODUCTION TO APLIED STATISTICS

1.0 INTRODUCTION

You may be familiar with probability and statistics through radio, television, newspapers, and magazines. For

example, you may have read statements like the following found in newspapers
➢ In Lusaka, 36% of adults aged 25 and older have at least a bachelor’s degree.

➢ In 1995 there were 926,621 bankruptcy filings, while in 2005 there were 2,078,415 bankruptcy filings.

➢ Toddlers need an average of 13 hours of sleep per day.

➢ The average in-state college tuition and fees for 4-year public college is $5836.

➢ There is a 3.8% probability of selecting a briefcase containing $1 million on the television show “Deal or No Deal.”

➢ The back-to-school student plans to spend, on average, $114.38 on electronics and computer-related items. (Source:
Statistics is used in almost all fields of human endeavour.

❖ In sports, for example, a statistician may keep records of the number of yards a running back gains during a football

game, or the number of hits a baseball player gets in a season.

❖ In other areas, such as public health, an administrator might be concerned with the number of residents who contract a

new strain of flu virus during a certain year.

❖ In education, a researcher might want to know if new methods of teaching are better than old ones.

These are only a few examples of how statistics can be used in various occupations. Furthermore, statistics is used to

analyze the results of surveys and as a tool in scientific research to make decisions based on controlled experiments. Other

uses of statistics include operations research, quality control, estimation, and prediction
 Definition (Statistics)

Statistics is the science of conducting studies to collect, organize, summarize, analyse, and draw conclusions from data.

Students study statistics for several reasons for the example;

➢ Like professional people, you must be able to read and understand the various statistical studies performed in your fields.

To have this understanding, you must be knowledgeable about the vocabulary, symbols, concepts, and statistical procedures

used in these studies.

➢ You may be called on to conduct research in your field, since statistical procedures are basic to research. To accomplish

this, you must be able to design experiments; collect, organize, analyze, and summarize data; and possibly make reliable

predictions or forecasts for future use. You must also be able to communicate the results of the study in your own words.
It is the purpose of this chapter to introduce the goals for studying statistics by answering questions such as the following:

➢ What are the branches of statistics?

➢ What are data?

➢ How are samples selected?

1.1 Descriptive and Inferential Statistics

To gain knowledge about seemingly haphazard situations, statisticians collect information for variables, which describe

the situation.

Definition

A variable is a characteristic or attribute that can assume different values. Data are the values (measurements or

observations) that the variables can assume. Variables whose values are determined by chance are called random

variables. A collection of data values forms a data set. Each value in the data set is called a data value or a datum.
 Data can be used in different ways. The body of knowledge called statistics is sometimes divided into two main areas,

depending on how data are used. The two areas are

➢ Descriptive statistics

➢ Inferential statistics

Definition

Descriptive statistics consists of the collection, organization, summarization, and presentation of data. In descriptive

statistics the statistician tries to describe a situation.

Definition

Inferential statistics consists of generalizing from samples to populations, performing estimations and hypothesis tests,

determining relationships among variables, and making predictions. Here, the statistician tries to make inferences from

samples to populations. Inferential statistics uses probability, i.e., the chance of an event occurring.
Definition

A population consists of all subjects (human or otherwise) that are being studied. Most of the time, due to the expense, time,

size of population, medical concerns, etc., it is not possible to use the entire population for a statistical study; therefore,

researchers use samples.

Definition

A sample is a group of subjects selected from a population. If the subjects of a sample are properly selected, most of the

time they should possess the same or similar characteristics as the subjects in the population
In statistics, there are two main types of populations:

1. Finite population: A finite population has a fixed, countable number of individuals or units. Examples include:
- Students in a particular school
- Employees in a company
- Residents in a specific city

2. Infinite population: An infinite population has an uncountable or indefinitely large number of individuals or units. Examples

include:
- All possible outcomes of a random experiment (e.g., coin tosses)
- All possible measurements of a continuous variable (e.g., heights of people)

Additionally, there are two other types of populations:

1. Target population: The target population is the specific group of individuals or units that researchers want to understand
or describe. It's the population to which the research findings will be generalized.
2. Sampled population: The sampled population is the subset of individuals or units selected from the target population for
the purpose of data collection.

Understanding the type of population is crucial in statistics, as it affects the sampling method, data analysis, and
interpretation of results.
EXERCISE 1
A study conducted at LAMU revealed that students who attended class 95 to 100% of the time usually received an A in the
class. Students who attended class 80 to 90% of the time usually received a B or C in the class. Students who attended class
less than 80% of the time usually received a D or an E or eventually withdrew from the class. Based on this information,
attendance and grades are related. The more you attend class, the more likely you will receive a higher grade. If you improve
your attendance, your grades will probably improve. Many factors affect your grade in a course. One factor that you have
considerable control over is attendance. You can increase your opportunities for learning by attending class more often.
1. What are the variables under study?
2. What are the data in the study?
3. Are descriptive, inferential, or both types of statistics used?
4. What is the population under study?
5. Was a sample collected? If so, from where?
6. From the information given, comment on the relationship between the variables.
1.2 Variables and Types of Data

This section will explore in greater detail the nature of variables and types of data. Variables can be classified as qualitative or

quantitative.

Qualitative variables are variables that can be placed into distinct categories, according to some characteristic or attribute. For

example, if subjects are classified according to gender (male or female), then the variable gender is qualitative. Other examples

of qualitative variables are religious preference and geographic locations.

Quantitative variables are numerical and can be ordered or ranked. For example, the variable age is numerical, and people

can be ranked in order according to the value of their ages. Other examples of quantitative variables are heights, weights, and

body temperatures. Quantitative variables can be further classified into two groups: discrete and continuous.
Discrete variables assume values that can be counted. Discrete variables can be assigned values such as 0, 1, 2, 3 and are

said to be countable. Examples of discrete variables are the number of children in a family, the number of students in a

classroom, and the number of calls received by a switchboard operator each day for a month.

Continuous variables can assume an infinite number of values between any two specific values. They are obtained by

measuring. They often include fractions and decimals. Continuous variables, by comparison, can assume an infinite number

of values in an interval between any two specific values

In addition to being classified as qualitative or quantitative, variables can be classified by how they are categorized, counted,

or measured. For example, can the data be organized into specific categories, such as area of residence (rural, suburban, or

urban)? Can the data values be ranked, such as first place, second place, etc.? Or are the values obtained from measurement,

such as heights, IQs, or temperature? This type of classification i.e., how variables are categorized, counted, or measured uses

measurement scales, and four common types of scales are used: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio.

➢ The nominal level of measurement classifies data into mutually exclusive (no overlapping), exhausting categories in

which no order or ranking can be imposed on the data.

➢ The ordinal level of measurement classifies data into categories that can be ranked; however, precise differences

between the ranks do not exist.

➢ The interval level of measurement ranks data, and precise differences between units of measure do exist; however, there

is no meaningful zero.

➢ The ratio level of measurement possesses all the characteristics of interval measurement, and there exists a true zero. In

addition, true ratios exist when the same variable is measured on two different members of the population.

Examples of Measurement Scales

Nominal variable Ratio variable

Ordinal variable Interval variable
✓ Zip code ✓ Height
✓ Grade ✓ SAT score
✓ Gender ✓ Weight
✓ Judging ✓ IQ
✓ Eye colour ✓ Time
✓ Rating scale ✓ Temperature
✓ Political affiliation ✓ Salary
✓ Ranking
✓ Major field ✓ Age