TOPIC 1

What is
Statistics ?

What is Statistics?

 Statistics (statistik) is a way to get information from

data. It is a tool for creating new understanding from
a set of numbers.

 Descriptive statistics (statistik deskriptif) deals with

methods of organizing, summarizing, and presenting
data in a convenient and informative way.

 Descriptive statistics uses graphical (grafik) and

tabulation (penjadualan) techniques to present data in
ways that make it easy to extract useful information.

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 Another form of descriptive statistics uses numerical
techniques (kaedah numerik) / descriptive measures
(ukuran deskriptif) to summarize data.

Example: A class of fifty statistics students obtained an

average score of 53.5.

 Inferential statistics (statistik inferens) is a body of

methods used to draw conclusions or make inferences
about characteristics of populations based on sample
data.

Example: Based on a sample of 500 subscribers, a

local cable system estimates that the proportion
(perkadaran) of all subscribers watch a premium
channel is between 0.35 to 0.48.

Key Statistical Concepts

 Population (populasi) is the group of all items (people,

objects, firms, households etc.) of interest.

 Sample (sampel) is a set of data drawn from the

population.

 Large populations make investigating each member

impractical and expensive. Easier and cheaper to
take a sample and make inferences about the
population from the sample.

 Parameter is a descriptive measure of population.

 Statistic (statistik) is a descriptive measure of a sample.

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 Inferential Statistics

estimate (menganggar) the unknown

value of a population parameter on
the basis of a sample statistic

test a claim (menguji dakwaan) about

the population parameter based on a
sample statistic

Example 1:

Identify each of the following as a use of descriptive statistics

or inferential statistics.

a) Tabulate the unemployment rate of all European countries

b) Examine the ages of a sample of 5000 iPhone users to test if

the average age of all iPhone users is less than 35 years old

c) Estimate the population mean family expenditure on food

based on the sample mean expenditure of 1,000 families

d) Collect the entry CGPA of a sample of 100 UKM students

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e) The Federal Aviation Administration samples 500 traffic
controllers in order to estimate the percent retiring due to
job stress related illness

f) Graphically present the number of people died of novel

coronavirus from 23 January to 10 February 2020

g) Calculate the average number of units registered last

semester by FEP students

h) The admission's office of a university samples 200 Pre-U

students in order to test the claim about the proportion of
students who prefer psychology program

i) Summarize the socioeconomic and physical characteristics

of the employees of a particular firm

Example 2(a):

A manufacturer of mobile phones claims that average weight of

the mobile phones was less than 8 ounces. When 500 mobile
phones were drawn from a large production run, the average
weight was 7.97 ounces.

a) Describe the population and the sample.

b) Describe / find the parameter.

c) Describe / find the statistic.

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 Answer:

a) Population:

Sample:

b) Parameter :

c) Statistic:

Example 2(b):

The Human Resources director of a large corporation wishes

to develop an employee benefits package and decides to
select 500 employees from a list of 40,000 total workers in
order to study their preferences for the various components
of a potential package. The result shows that 85% of them
prefer vacation package.

a) Describe the population and the sample.

b) Describe / find the parameter.

c) Describe / find the statistic.

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 Answer:

a) Population:

Sample:

b) Parameter:

c) Statistic:

Variable, Observation, Data

 Variable (pemboleh ubah) is a characteristic that

varies within a population or sample.

 Observation (cerapan) is an individual measurement

of a variable.

 Data are the actual measurements or observed

values (nilai tercerap) of a variable.

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 Types of Variables

 Qualitative (kualitatif) / categorical variable is a

characteristic with observations that are non-numeric
and can only be placed into categories.
Example: Fields of study (accounting, economics,
finance, management, or marketing)

 Quantitative (kuantitatif) / numerical variable is a

numerical quantity on each object whose observations
can be ordered in terms of the magnitude of the
characteristic.
Example: The starting salaries of graduates of MBA
programs

Discrete & Continuous Variables

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 Measurement Scales
(Skala Pengukuran)

Ratio Nominal

Interval Ordinal

Nominal & Ordinal Scales

 Nominal scale classifies data into distinct categories in

which no ranking is implied.

Example: Economic sectors (agriculture, service,

manufacturing)

 Ordinal scale classifies data into distinct categories in

which ranking is implied and the magnitudes of the
differences between measurements are unknown.

Example: Course rating system (1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 =

good, 4 = very good, 5 = excellent)

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 Interval & Ratio Scales

 Interval (selang) scale distinguishes data by the amount

of the characteristic they possess. The numerical quantity
indicate order and differences between measurements.

 The zero point on an interval scale is arbitrary (arbitrari)

(i.e. it doesn’t mean none). Therefore the ratio of two
measurements is meaningless. Example: Temperature

 the 0C does not mean that there is no temperature

 the distance from 30-40C and 70-80C is the same
 but 80C is not twice as hot as 40C

Ratio Scales

 Ratio (nisbah) scale data are similar to the interval scale

data, but has an absolute zero (sifar mutlak) and therefore
the ratio of two measurements is meaningful.

Example: The weekly sales

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 Primary & Secondary Data

 Primary (primer) data: Data collected first hand for

subsequent analysis to meet a specific purpose.

It could be collected using census (banci), sample survey

(tinjauan sampel), designed experiment (reka bentuk
uji kaji).

 Secondary (sekunder) data: Data that have already been

collected.

It could be obtained from the published or unpublished

sources such as online databases, government
publications, annual reports of companies, etc.

Time Series & Cross Sectional Data

 Time series (siri masa) data: A set of data collected over

several time periods (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly,
yearly).

Example: Consumer Price Index, 2003 – 2016

 Cross sectional (keratan rentas) data: A set of data

collected at the same or approximately the same
point in time.

Example: The Global Competitiveness Index, 2018

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 Statistical Packages

Tasks for the course

Forum 1:

What is statistics?

Forum 2:
In what ways can statistics be useful in today's global
environment? Provide a few examples.

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