Business Analytics

Types of Data
 Overview of Using Data:
Definitions and Goals
• Data
Facts and figures collected, analyzed, and summarized for
presentation and interpretation
• Variable
A characteristic or a quantity of interest that can take on different
values
• Observation
A set of values corresponding to a set of variables
• Variation
The difference in a variable measured over observations (time,
customers, items, etc).
• Random Variable or Uncertain Variable
A quantity whose values are not known with certainty
Overview of Using Data:
Definitions and Goals

DATA FOR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL INDEX COMPANIES

 Types of Data

Population and Sample Data

➢ It is not feasible to collect data from the population of all
elements of interest.
➢ We collect data from a subset of the population known as
sample.

For example:
With the thousands of publicly traded companies in the US,
tracking and analyzing all of these stocks every day would be
too time consuming and expensive.
 Types of Data

Quantitative and Categorical Data

➢ Data are considered quantitative data if numeric and
arithmetic operations can be performed on them.

For example:
We can sum the values for Volume in the Dow data to calculate a
total volume of all shares traded by companies included in the
Dow.
 Types of Data

➢ Categorical Data
• If arithmetic operations cannot be performed on the data, they
are considered Categorical Data.
• We can summarize categorical data by counting the number of
observations or computing the proportions of observations in each
category.

For example:
The data in the Industry column are categorical
 Types of Data
Cross-Sectional and Time Series Data
Cross-Sectional
➢ These are collected from several entities at the same,
or approximately the same, point in time.

For example:
The data in the table are cross-sectional because they describe the
30 companies that comprise the Dow at the same point in time
(April 2013).
 Types of Data
Cross-Sectional and Time Series Data
Time Series Data
➢ These are collected over several time periods
➢ Graphs help understand what happened in the past,
identify trends over time, and project future levels for the
time series.
For example:
The graph of the time series shows the DJI value from February 2002
to April 2013.

DOW JONES INDEX VALUES SINCE 2002

 Types of Data
Sources of Data
➢ In an experimental study, a variable of interest is first
identified
For example:
If a pharmaceutical firm is interested in conducting an experiment to learn
about how a new drug affects blood pressure, then blood pressure is the
variable of interest in the study.

➢ Nonexperimental or observational studies make no

attempt to control the variables of interest.
a survey - common type of observational study
For example:
In a personal interview survey, research questions are first identified.
 Types of Data
Sources of Data

CUSTOMER OPINION QUESTIONNAIRE USED BY CHOPS CITY GRILL RESTAURANT