Statistics. Definitions .

Statistics is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the organization, analysis, and interpretation of a
group of numbers.

In other words, statistics is a method of pursuing truth.

Statistics can tell you the likelihood that your hunch is true in this time and place and with these sorts of
people.

Psychologists use statistical methods to help them make sense of the numbers they collect when
conducting research.

Psychologists usually use statistical software to carry out statistical procedures.

In general, it can be understood that statistics is not only facts and figures but more than that.

In the broadest sense, “statistics” refers to a range of techniques and procedures for analyzing,
interpreting, displaying, and making decisions based on data.

What statistics is not!

Statistics is not math.

Although math is a central component of it, statistics is a broader way of organizing, interpreting, and
communicating information in an objective manner.

Why do we study statistics?

Statistics is how we communicate in science. It serves as the link between a research idea and usable
conclusions. Without statistics, we would be unable to interpret the massive amounts of information
contained in data.

Statistics provides tools that you need in order to react intelligently to information you hear or read.

Statistics are often presented in an effort to add credibility to an argument or advice.

Statistics also helps to recognize statistical evidence that supports a stated conclusion.

A few basic concepts:

A variable is a condition or characteristic that can have different values. In short, it can vary.

A value is just a number, such as 4, –81, or 367.12. A value can also be a category, such as male or
female, or a psychiatric diagnosis—major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder—and so forth.

Finally, on any variable, each person studied has a particular number or score that is his or her value on
the variable.

Types of variables:

There are two types of variables:

Independent Variable

Dependent Variable

Qualitative Variables:

Qualitative variables are those that express a qualitative attribute such as hair color, eye color, religion,
favorite movie, gender, and so on. The values of a qualitative variable do not imply a numerical ordering.

Qualitative variables are sometimes referred to as categorical variables.

Quantitative Variables:

Quantitative variables are those variables that are measured in terms of numbers. Some examples of
quantitative variables are height, weight, and shoe size.

Discrete Variables:

Variables such as number of children in a household are called discrete variables since the possible
scores are discrete points on the scale.

Continuous Variables:

Variable for which, in theory, there are an infinite number of values between any two values.

Scales of measurement:

Nominal Scale

Ordinal Scale

Interval Scale

Ratio Scale