Prob & Stat U1 D1 Vocab

Data

information coming from observations, counts, measurements, or responses

Statistics

the science of collecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting data in order to make decisions

Population

the collection of all outcomes, responses, measurements, or counts that are of interest

Sample

a subset, or part, of a population

Parameter

a numerical description of a population characteristic

Statistic

a numerical description of a sample characteristic

Inferential statistics

the branch of statistics that involves using a sample to draw conclusions about a population

Descriptive statistics

the branch of statistics that involves the organization, summarization, and display of data

individual

the people or objects included in the study

Variable

characteristic, number, or quantity that can be measures or counted

Qualitative variable (categorical)

consists of attributes, labels, or nonnumerical entries

Quantitative variable

consists of numerical measurements or counts

Observational study

a researcher does not influence the responses

Experiment

a researcher applies a treatment before observing the responses

Continuous variable

when it has an uncountable number of possible outcomes, represented by an interval on a number line. (any value on the number line)

Discrete variable

When it has a finite or countable number of possible outcomes that can be listed. (numerical values have gaps)