Descriptive and Inferential Stats

Flashcards for Statistics Review

statistics

the science of conducting studies to collect, organize, summarize, analyze, and draw conclusions from data

variable

a characteristic or attribute that can assume different values

random variable

variables whose values are determined by chance

data

the values (measurements or observations) that the variables can assume

data set

a collection of data values

data value (datum)

each value in the data set

population

all subjects (human or otherwise) that are being studied

census

when data is collected from every subject in the population

sample

a group of subjects selected from a population

biased sample

the results from the sample are radically different from the results of a census or if the sample does not represent the population from which it has been selected

descriptive statistics

the collection, organization, summarization, and presentation of data

inferential statistics

generalizing from samples to populations, performing estimations and hypothesis tests, determining relationships among variables, and making predictions

probability

the chance of an event occuring

hypothesis testing

a decision making process for evaluating claims about a population, based on information obtained from samples