UNIT 1 (from PPT)

What is Statistics?  Parameter – a numerical characteristic of the population

Statistics is a branch of Science that deals with the collection,
organization, presentation, analysis and interpretation of
data.
What is the importance of Statistics in business and
economics?
 Statistics is an indispensable tool in business and
economics.
 Statistics helps an economist understand various
business and economic problems such as poverty and
unemployment; assessing relationship between different
economic variables; studying trends/patterns of
economic data; and formulating appropriate economic
policies.
Two Major Areas in Statistical Analysis
a. Descriptive Statistics
b. Inferential Statistics
Descriptive Statistics
- comprise those methods concerned with organizing,
presenting, summarizing, and analyzing a set of data
w/out drawing conclusions or inferences about a
population.
- Ex: Tabular and Graphical Presentation; Numerical
Description
- Examples of Common Research Questions that will
require Descriptive Statistics
1. What is the total monthly sales of books at the XU
Bookcenter?
2. What is the distribution of employees in a shoe
factory in terms age?
3. What are the common products sold online?
4. How many of the call center agents are college
graduates?
 Statistic – a numerical characteristic of the sample
Classifications of data
1. Qualitative Data
- are data for which no numerical measure exists
- These are usually expressed in categories or kind.
- Ex. Car color, laptop brand, gender of employees
2. Quantitative Data - are data that can be expressed in
numbers.
Types of Quantitative Data:
i. Discrete Quantitative Data – can be counted; thus can
assume value which is a whole number. (Ex. No. of
employees)
ii. Continuous Quantitative Data – can be measured
using some units of measurements which may take
some decimal numbers. (Ex. Weight of fish)
Levels of Measurements
1) Nominal - consists of named categories but no implied
ranking of categories. (Ex. Brand of alcohol)
2) Ordinal – the categories of a variable can be ranked
(Ex. Level of agreement: strongly agree, agree, neutral,
disagree, strongly disagree)
3) Interval – contains the property of identity, order, and
equality of scale but does not possess the absolute zero
property. (Ex. Temperature)
4) Ratio - contains the property of identity, order, equality
of scale and the absolute zero property. (Ex. weight)

Inferential Statistics
- comprise those methods concerned with the analysis of
sample data leading to predictions or inferences about
the population.
- Ex: Point and Interval Estimation, Prediction,
Hypothesis Testing
- Examples of Common Research Questions that will
require Inferential Statistics
1. Is there a significant decrease in the weight before
and after enrolling in a Zumba class?
2. Is there a significant linear relationship between
weather temperature and sales of ice cream?
3. Is there a significant association between gender and
the choice of brand of shoes?
4. Is there a significant difference in the mean lifespan
between Oppo and Samsung cellphones?

Definition of terms
 Population – a collection of all units from which the data
are to be collected
 Sample – a part or subset of the population