Chapter 1 (MAT-152)

Statistics

The science of collecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting data

Population

all outcomes

Sample

a part

Parameter

a numerical description of a population

Statistic

numerical measurement describing a sample

descriptive statistics

involves organizing, summarizing, and displaying data

Inferential statistics

using sample data to draw conclusions about the population

Quantitative data

numerical measurements or counts

Qualitative data

consists of attributes, labels, or nonnumerical entries

nominal

Qualitative data only, categorized using names, labels, or qualities. No mathematical computations can be made.

Ordinal

Qualitative or quantitative data. Data can be arranged in order or ranked. Differences between data entries are not meaningful

Interval

Quantitative data, Data can be ordered, Differences between data entries are meaningful, Zero represents a position on a scale (not an inherent zero - zero does not imply "none")

Ratio

Similar to the interval level, Zero entry is an inherent zero (implies "none")

A ratio of two data values can be formed, One data value can be expressed as a multiple of another