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15 views10 pages

Stat Lesson1

Uploaded by

roxanmecate
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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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Statistics and Probability

Lesson 1: Introduction to Statistics


Why do we study statistics?

• The field of statistics is the science of learning from data. Statistical


knowledge helps you use the proper methods to collect the data,
employ the correct analyses, and effectively present the results.
Statistics is a crucial process behind how we make discoveries in
science, make decisions based on data, and make predictions.
Statistics allows you to understand a subject much more deeply.
Statistics is the science of conducting studies that collect, organize,
summarize, analyze, and draw conclusion from data. It is used in almost
all fields of human endeavor. In public health, a doctor may be interested
with a number of residents in an area who contract a new strain of flu
virus in a certain number of months. In education, a researcher might
want to know if new methods of teaching are better than the traditional
ones. In sports, a statistician may keep record of the number of hits a
basketball player gets in a season of games. In business, a car dealer may
look at past sales records for a specific month to decide what types of
automobiles and how many of each type to order for that month of next
year.
Statistics and probability are sections of mathematics
that deal with data collection and analysis. Probability is
the study of chance and is a very fundamental subject
that we apply in everyday living, while statistics is more
concerned with how we handle data using different
analysis techniques and collection methods. These two
subjects always go hand in hand and thus you can't
study one without studying the other.
In machine learning, we often deal with
uncertainty and stochastic quantities, due to
one of the reasons being incomplete
observability — therefore, we most likely work
with sampled data. Now, suppose we want to
draw reliable conclusions about the behavior
of a random variable, even though we only
have limited data and we simply do not know
the entire population.
Hence, we need way to generalize from the
sampled data to the population, or in other
words — we need to estimate the true data-
generating process.
Understanding the probability distribution, allows us
to compute the probability of a certain outcome by
also accounting for the variability in the results. Thus,
it enables us to generalize from the sample to the
population, estimate the data-generating function and
predict the behavior of a random variable more
accurately.
A population is the entire group that
you want to draw conclusions
about. A sample is the specific group
that you will collect data from. The
size of the sample is always less than
the total size of the population.
One of the ways to appreciate what is being studied is to know
its origin and how it developed and helped mankind. Statistics
as a field of knowledge proved so much in the world as a very
powerful tool in almost all fields of work. It can be found in the
field of sciences, in business and economics, education, politics,
psychology and research.
In social sciences, particularly in the field of education and
psychology, statistics is an indispensable tool.
In education, the school administration and staff, the faculty
and the students use statistics as a tool in performance of their
respective functions and responsibilities.
In psychology, statistical methods are used to analyze and interpret
data on intelligence test scores, aptitude tests, personality test
ratings, entrance examinations, etc. for the better understanding of
the individual tested, and for better administration and
management.
In government, statistics provides the various government agencies
organized and systematic records of data needed in the formulation
of national policies for the betterment of the nations' well being.
In research, many scientific investigations produce large quantities
of raw data that are overwhelming and difficult to interpret hence,
statistical tools are employed.
In agriculture, statistics was also used to identify the varieties of
plants we should grow and the best combinations of fertilizers,
pesticides and densities of planting.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

• Why is statistics an inseparable partner of research?


• In what way is statistics used in information technology,
business, education and medicine?
• What is the role of statistics in public health especially now in
the midst of pandemic? Explain briefly.

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