Statistics:

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The science of that deals with the collection, analysis, interpretation, and
presentation of data.

Descriptive statistics:
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Organizing and summarizing data is called descriptive statistics.

Inferential statistics:
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Two ways to summarize data are by graphing and by using numbers (for example,
finding an average). After you
have studied probability and probability distributions, you will use formal methods
for drawing conclusions from "good"
data. The formal methods are called inferential statistics

Probability
------------
Probability is a mathematical tool used to study randomness.

Population:
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a population as a collection of persons, things, or objects under study

Sample
-----
To study the population, we select a sample.

The idea of sampling is to select a portion (or subset)

of the larger population and study that portion (the sample) to gain information
about the population.
Data are the result of sampling from a population.

statistic:
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A statistic is a number that represents a property of the sample.

For example,
if we consider one math class to be a sample of the population of all math
classes, then the average number of
points earned by students in that one math class at the end of the term is an
example of a statistic.
The statistic is an estimate of a population parameter.

Parameter:
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A parameter is a number that is a property of the population.

Representative sample:
----------------------
One of the main concerns in the field of statistics is how accurately a
statistic estimates a parameter. The accuracy really
depends on how well the sample represents the population. The sample must contain
the characteristics of the population
in order to be a representative sample
Variable
--------
A variable, notated by capital letters such as X and Y, is a characteristic
of interest for each person or thing in a population
Variables may be numerical or categorical

Data, Datum:
-----------
Data are the actual values of the variable. They may be numbers or they may
be words. Datum is a single value.

Population vs Sample:
--------------------
it would be very difficult and perhaps even destructive to search every
square meter of the habitat to be sure that you counted every unit.

it is very expensive to get accurate and complete information about all the
residents of the United States to help effectively address the needs of a changing
population.

This is why a complete counting, or census , is only attempted every ten

years. Because of these problems, it is common to use a smaller, representative
group from the population, called a sample .

Type of samples:
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Random Sample
Stratified Sample
Cluster Sample
Systematic Sample
Convenience Sample

Point Estimate:
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Report of the estimate of the parameter as a single value - Point Estimate

Interval Estimate:
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Report of the estimate of the parameter as in between two values - Interval
Estimate

Sampling error:
---------------
The difference between the true parameter and the statistic obtained by sampling is
called sampling error

a sample will never be exactly representative of the population so there will

always be some sampling error. As a
rule, the larger the sample, the smaller the sampling error

Bias:
-----
a sampling bias is created when a sample is collected from a population and some
members of the population
are not as likely to be chosen as others (remember, each member of the population
should have an equally likely chance of
being chosen). When a sampling bias happens, there can be incorrect conclusions
drawn about the population that is being
studied.