Statistics

is the study of the collection,

analysis, interpretation,
presentation, and organization
of data.[1][2] In applying
statistics to, e.g., a scientific,
industrial, or social problem, it
is conventional to begin with a
statistical population or a
statistical model process to be
studied. Populations can be
diverse topics such as "all
people living in a country" or
"every atom composing a
crystal". Statistics deals with
all aspects of data including
the planning of data collection
in terms of the design of
surveys and experiments.[1]

The Three Ms

The mean (average) is 5 feet 7.8

inches.
Median
The score that divides the results in
half - the middle value.
Examples:
Odd amount of numbers: Find the
median of 5 feet 6 inches, 5 feet 7
inches, 5 feet 10 inches, 5 feet 8
inches, 5 feet 8 inches.
Line up your numbers from
smallest to largest: 5 feet 6 inches,
5 feet 7 inches, 5 feet 8 inches, 5
feet 8 inches, 5 feet 10 inches.
The median is: 5 feet 8 inches (the
number in the middle).
Even amount of numbers: Find the
median of 7, 2, 43, 16, 11, 5

Mean

Line up your numbers in order: 2,

5, 7, 11, 16, 43

The average result of a test,

survey, or experiment.

Add the 2 middle numbers and

divide by 2: 7 + 11 = 18 2 = 9

Example:

The median is 9.

Heights of five people: 5 feet 6

inches, 5 feet 7 inches, 5 feet 10
inches, 5 feet 8 inches, 5 feet 8
inches.

Mode

The sum is: 339 inches.

Divide 339 by 5 people = 67.8
inches or 5 feet 7.8 inches.

The most common result (the most

frequent value) of a test, survey, or
experiment.
Example:
Find the mode of 5 feet 6 inches, 5
feet 7 inches, 5 feet 10 inches, 5
feet 8 inches, 5 feet 8 inches.

Put the numbers is order to make it

easier to visualize: 5 feet 6 inches,
5 feet 7 inches, 5 feet 8 inches, 5
feet 8 inches, 5 feet 10 inches.

significance of p<.01 for the

results.

The mode is 5 feet 8 inches (it

occurs the most, at 2 times).

Significant Difference
Significance
The measure of whether the results
of research were due to chance.
The more statistical significance
assigned to an observation, the
less likely the observation occurred
by chance.
p-value
The way in which significance is
reported statistically (i.e. p<.01
means that there is a less than 1%
chance that the results of a study
are due to random chance). Note
that generally p-values need to be
fairly low (.01 and .05 are common)
in order for a study to make any
strong claims based on the results.
Example:

A study had one group of

students (Group A) study
using notes they took in
class; the other group (Group
B) studied using notes they
took after class using a
recording of the
lecture. Students in Group A
scored higher on a test than
Group B. The study reports a

This means that whatever

the reason students who took
notes in class did better on
the test, there is only a 0 1% chance that the results
are due to some random
factor (such as Group A
having smarter students than
Group B).

Correlation
Correlation
The degree to which two factors
appear to be related. Correlation
should not be confused with
causation. Just because two factors
are reported as being correlated,
you cannot say that one factor
causes the other. For example, you
might find a correlation between
going to the library at least 40
times per semester and getting
high scores on tests. However, you
cannot say from these findings
what about going to the library, or
what about people who go to
libraries often, is responsible for
higher test scores.
r-value
The way in which correlation is
reported statistically (a number
between -1 and +1). Generally, rvalues should be >+/-.3 in order to
report a significant correlation.

An r-value of -1 indicates a
extreme negative correlation

between two variables - as

one variable's values tend to
increase, the other variable's
values tend to decrease.

An r-value of +1 indicates an
extreme positive correlation
between two variables - as
one variable's values tend to
increase, the other variable's
values also tend to increase.

An r-value of 0 means there

is no correlation at all
between the elements being
studied.

BASIC STATISTICS
1.)
Basic Concepts:
Statistics
: is a science that analyzes
info
rmation variables (for
instance,
population age, height of a
basketball team, the
temperatures of summer
months, etc.) and attempts to
extract conclusions based on
the behavior of
these variables. Statistics is
one of the
sciences that allow us to
know, or at
least to understand, the
reality in which we live.
Through statistics, we can
obtain very valuable
information that will help us to
make decisions

regarding any aspect of our

life. The purp
ose of statistics is
to analyze past
information to help us make
decisions for the future
Random variable
: A set of the different
numerical values that adopt a
quantitative character. It is
the piece of data susceptible
to acquire different
values in different and specific
circumst
ances. Statistics is the
quantitative
study of variables, therefore,
these values may be
considered as the raw
material for statistic studies.
Any variable that has a
specific probability law
associated; each of the values
that may take has a
corresponding specific
probability.
The variables may be
qualitative or quantitative.
Qualitative variables (or
categorical)
: those variables that are not
in
numerical form, but appear as
categories or attributes
(gender, profession,
eye color). Quantitative
variables
: those variables that may be
expressed

numerically (temperature,
salary, numbers
of goals in a soccer match,
etc.).
Quantitative variables may be
defined, according to the type
of values that
represent as:

Discrete
: Those values that represent
isolated values (natural
numbers) and that cannot
take any intermediate value
between
two established consecutive
values.
For instance; number of goals,
number of children, number of
bought records, number of
heartbeats...
Continuous
: Those values that represent
infinite values (real
numbers) in a given interval,
so that they can represent
any
intermediate value, in theory
at least, in their range of
variation.
For instance; size, weight,
blood pressure, temperature..
2

Continuous
: Those values that represent
infinite values (real
numbers) in a given interval,
so that they can represent
any

intermediate value, in theory

at least, in their range of
variation.
For instance; size, weight,
blood pressure, temperature...
Frequency:
Number of times a datum is
repeated. There are two types
of
frequencies:

Absolute frequency:
the absolute frequency of a
statistical
variable is the number of
times th
at value of the variable
appears
in the sample.

Relative frequency:
Absolute frequency is a
measure influenced
by the size of the simple.
Increasing the sample size
also
increases the absolute
frequency. This correlation
makes it a
measure not useful to
compare. Th
at is why it is necessary to
introduce the concept of
relative frequency
, or the quotient
obtained dividing the absolute
frequency over the sample
size.

The following concepts have

to be considered when
studying the behavior of
a variable
:
(Components of a Statistical
Study)
Population:
is the set of all the elements
that possess certain
properties
and are the elements desired
to study a particular
phenomenon (homes,
number of screws
manufactured yearly in a
plant, flipping a coin, etc.).
Statistic population or
universe is the reference set
used to make the
observations.
Individual:
a statistical unit, or individual
, is each of the elements that

make up the statistic

population. The indi
vidual is an observable entity
that
does not have to be a person.
It can be an object, a living
being and even and abstract
concept.
Census:
We say we are conducting a
cens
us when we are observing all
the
elements that make up the
statistic population.
Parameter:
is a characteristic of a
population, summarized for its
study. It
is considered a true value of
the characteristic under study.