What Is Are Statistics n n n Statistics

What Is (Are? ) Statistics? n n n Statistics (as a discipline) is a way of reasoning, a collection of tools and methods, designed to help us understand the world. n In other words: Statistics is the art of distilling meaning from data. Statistics also refers to particular calculations made from data. Data are values with a context. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1 - 1

Example – class survey n n On a piece of paper write your gender, your height, how many siblings you have, how many states and how many countries you’ve visited, how many college math classes you’ve taken before this one, and a random number between 1 and 10. Lets look at our data set – In statistics variables are characteristics we measure or observe. What are the variables? n Are there any patterns? n Can we do any meaningful calculations on our data? n These are statistics! n Are there any issues with our variables? n How well do you think our data generalizes to the student population of the college as a whole? To the population of the state? To the world? Slide 1 - 2 Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. n

What is Statistics Really About? n n n Statistics is about variation. All measurements are imperfect, since there is variation that we cannot see. Statistics helps us to understand the real, imperfect world in which we live. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1 - 3

Think, Show, Tell n There are three simple steps to doing Statistics right: first. Know where you’re headed and why. is about the mechanics of calculating statistics and graphical displays, which are important (but are not the most important part of Statistics). what you’ve learned. You must explain your results so that someone else can understand your conclusions. Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1 - 4