Week 0 - Basic concepts of statistics

Descriptive statistics definition

use of graphs and/or numbers to organise, summarise and present data in an informative way.

Inferential statistics

the application of formal methods to data to draw general conclusions.

Define probability

any mathematical law used to study randomness. It deals with the chance (the likelihood) of an event occurring.

Define population

a collection of persons, things, or objects under study.

Define sample

a portion of the population used to infer the general properties of the population.

Define sampling

the method used to select a portion of the population, that is, a sample.

Define statistic

is a number that represents a property of the sample.

Define parameter

a numerical characteristic of the whole population that can be estimated by a statistic.

Define (rando) variable

is a characteristic or measurement that can be determined for each member of a population. It is usually notated by capital letters such as X and Y.

Numerical variables

take on values with equal units such as weight in pounds and time in hours.

Define categorical variables

puts a place person or thing into a category

Define data

Actual values of the variable (datum is the single value)