Statistical methods are mathematical formulas,

models, and techniques that are used in statistical

analysis of raw research data. The application of
statistical methods extracts information from
research data and provides different ways to assess
the strength of research outputs.
The statistical analysis process
1. First describe and present your data, e.g. frequency
distributions in tables or charts
2. Calculate basic statistics where possible, e.g.
means and standard deviations
3. Start to interpret your data – what might it mean?
4. Select specific items for closer attention (based on
your research hypotheses)
5. Select and carry out the right kind of test
6. Interpret your findings in terms of significance levels
7. Modify and repeat if necessary
 Evaluation Criteria

Frequency and Probability

Evaluation Criteria
 Error
 Accuracy
 Precision
 Data richness
ERROR
 Population Specification error
 Sampling error
 Selection error
 Non-responsive error
 Measurement error
 Population Specification error
 This type of error occurs when the researcher selects an
inappropriate population or universe from which to obtain
data.

 Sampling Error
 Sampling error occurs when a probability sampling method is
used to select a sample, but the resulting sample is not
representative of the population concern. Unfortunately, some
element of sampling error is unavoidable. This is accounted
for in confidence intervals, assuming a probability sampling
method is used.
 Selection error
 Selection error is the sampling error for a sample selected by a
nonprobability method

 Non-responsive error
 Nonresponse error can exist when an obtained sample differs
from the original selected sample.

 Measurement error
 Measurement error is generated by the measurement process
itself, and represents the difference between the information
generated and the information wanted by the researcher.
 Accuracy and precision
 Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measured value to a
standard or known value.
 For example, if in lab you obtain a weight measurement of 3.2 kg
for a given substance, but the actual or known weight is 10 kg,
then your measurement is not accurate. In this case, your
measurement is not close to the known value.
 Precision refers to the closeness of two or more measurements to
each other. Using the example above, if you weigh a given
substance five times, and get 3.2 kg each time, then your
measurement is very precise. Precision is independent of
accuracy. You can be very precise but inaccurate, as described
above. You can also be accurate but imprecise.
Accuracy and precision
 The "trueness" or the closeness of the analytical result to the
"true" value. It is constituted by a combination of random
and systematic errors (precision and bias) and cannot be
quantified directly. The test result may be a mean of several
values. An accurate determination produces a "true"
quantitative value, i.e. it is precise and free of bias.

 The closeness with which results of replicate analyses of a

sample agree. It is a measure of dispersion or scattering
around the mean value and usually expressed in terms
of standard deviation, standard error or a range (difference
between the highest and the lowest result).
Data richness
You should always use the richest
(most detailed) data available
because it will give more accurate
results
PROBABILITY AND FREQUENCY
 The probability of an event is the likelihood of an
event to happen when an experiment is carried out.
Frequency can be defined as the repetition of a data
in a data set.
What is Frequency
 A frequency is the number of times a data value
occurs.

A bag has 3 red balls, 2 green balls, 1 yellow ball, 5

black balls
What is probability
 Probability is the relative frequency of occurrence for
some particular outcome if a process is repeated a
large number of times under similar conditions.
 Probability is the ratio of a number of favorable events
to a total number of outcomes possible
PROBABILITY AND FREQUENCY
 Probability is an expected value while frequency is a
value derived from the given data which is certain.