LESSON 1: INTRODUCING STATISTICS

Read and analyze each group of questions that follow. Think of the answers that you may have
given to the each question in each group.

The first group of questions could be answered by a piece of information which is considered
always true. There is a correct answer which is based on a fact and you don’t need the process of
inquiry to answer such kind of question. For example, there is one and only one correct answer
to the first question in Group
1 and that is your age as of your last birthday or the number of years since your birth year.

On the other hand, in the second group of questions one needs observations or data to be able to
respond to the question. In some questions you need to get the observations or responses of all
those concerned to be able to answer the
question. On the first question in the second group, you need to ask all the people in the locality
about their age and among the values you obtained you
get a representative value. To answer the second question in the second group,
you need to get the amount of food that all dogs and cats eat to respond to the question.
However, we know that is not feasible to do so. Thus what you can do is get a representative
group of dogs and another representative group for the cats. Then we measure the amount of
food each group of animal eats. From these two sets of values, we could then infer whether dogs
do eat more than cats.

So, as you can see in the second group of questions you need more information or data to be able
to answer the question. Either you need to get observations from all those concerned or you get
representative groups from which you gather your data. But, in both cases, you need data to be
able to respond to the question. Using data to find an answer or a solution to a problem or an
inquiry is actually using the statistical process or doing it with statistics.

Now, let us formalize what we discussed and know more about statistics and how we use it in
decision-making.

Statistics as a Tool in Decision-Making

Statistics is defined as a science that studies data to be able to make a decision. Hence, it is a
tool in decision-making process. Statistics as a science involves the methods of collecting,
processing, summarizing and analyzing data in order to provide answers or solutions to an
inquiry. One also needs to interpret and communicate the results of the methods identified above
to support a decision that one makes when faced with a problem or an inquiry.

Trivia: The word “statistics” actually comes from the word “state”—
because governments have been involved in the statistical activities,
especially the conduct of censuses either for military or taxation purposes.
The need for and conduct of censuses are recorded in the pages of holy
texts. In the Christian Bible, particularly the Book of Numbers, God is
reported to have instructed Moses to carry out a census. Another census
mentioned in the Bible is the census ordered by Caesar Augustus
throughout the entire Roman Empire before the birth of Christ.

USE OF STATISTICS:

Statistics enable us to:

• characterize persons, objects, situations, and phenomena;
• explain relationships among variables;
• formulate objective assessments and comparisons; and, more importantly
• make evidence-based decisions and predictions.

STATISTICAL PROCESS IN SOLVING A PROBLEM

For illustration on how to do the statistical process, let us discuss how we could answer the
question “Do dogs eat more than cats?” As discussed earlier, this question requires you to gather
data to generate statistics which will serve as basis in answering the query. There should be plan
or a design on how to collect the data so that the information we get from it is enough or
sufficient for us to minimize any bias in responding to the query. In relation to the query, we said
earlier that we cannot gather the data from all dogs and cats. Hence, the plan is to get
representative group of dogs and another representative group of cats. These representative
groups were observed for some characteristics like the animal weight, amount of food in grams
eaten per day and breed of the animal. Included in the plan are factors like how many dogs and
cats are included in the group, how to select those included in the representative groups and
when to observe these animals for their characteristics.
After the data were gathered, we must verify the quality of the data to make a good decision.
Data quality check could be done as we process the data to summarize the information extracted
from the data. Then using this information, one can then make a decision or provide answers to
the problem or question at hand.

To summarize, a statistical process in making a decision or providing solutions to

a problem include the following:

• Planning or designing the collection of data to answer statistical questions in

a way that maximizes information content and minimizes bias;
• Collecting the data as required in the plan;
• Verifying the quality of the data after they were collected;
• Summarizing the information extracted from the data; and
• Examining the summary statistics so that insight and meaningful information
can be produced to support decision-making or solutions to the question or
problem at hand.

Hence, several activities make up a statistical process which for some the process is simple but
for others it might be a little bit complicated to implement.
Also, not all questions or problems could be answered by a simple statistical process. There are
indeed problems that need complex statistical process.
However, one can be assured that logical decisions or solutions could be formulated using a
statistical process.

KEY POINTS
• Difference between questions that could be and those that could not be
answered using Statistics.
• Statistics is a science that studies data.
• There are many uses of Statistics but its main use is in decision-making.
• Logical decisions or solutions to a problem could be attained through a
statistical process.

ASSESSMENT

A. Answer each of the following whether the question is answerable through a statistical process
or not answerable through a statistical process. Write SP if the question is answerable through a
statistical process and NSP if the question is not answerable through a statistical process.

__________a. What is a typical size of a Filipino family?

__________b. How many hours in a day?
__________c. How old is the oldest man residing in the Philippines?
__________d. Is planet Mars bigger than planet Earth?
__________e. What is the average wage rate in the country?
__________f. Would Filipinos prefer eating bananas rather than apple?
__________g. How long did you sleep last night?
__________h. How much does a newly-hired public school teacher in NCR earns
in a month?
__________i. How tall is a typical Filipino?
__________j. Did you eat your breakfast today?

B. For each of the identified questions in Letter A that are answerable using a
statistical process, describe the activities involved in the process.