Chapter 0

Chapter 0
First Things First
ALWAYS LEARNING Copyright © 2021, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 1
Objectives
In this chapter you learn:
■ Statistics is a way of thinking that can lead to better
decisions making.
■ Statistics requires analytical skills and is an important part
of your business education.

■ Recent developments such as the use of business
analytics and “big data” have made knowing statistics
even more critical.
■ The DCOVA framework guides your application of
statistics.
■ The opportunity business analytics represent for business
students.
In Today’s Business World You Need
To Think Differently About Statistics
■ Modern-day information technology enables

businesses to apply statistics in new ways to
solve business problems utilizing:
■ Vast amounts of summarized, unsummarized,

numerical, and non-numerical data (facts about the
world).
■ Software to perform calculations.
Statistics Are The Methods That Allow
People To Effectively Work With Data
■ Business statistics provides a formal basis to:
■ Summarize and visualize business data.
■ Reach conclusions from business data.
■ Make reliable predictions about business activities.
■ Improve business processes.
To Properly Apply Statistics You Should Follow A
Framework To Minimize Possible Errors
In this book we will use DCOVA
■ Define the data you want to study to solve a

problem or meet an objective.
■ Collect the data from appropriate sources.
■ Organize the data collected by developing
tables.
■ Visualize the data collected by developing
charts.
■ Analyze the data collected to reach
conclusions and present the results.
Statistics Is Evolving So Businesses Can
Use The Vast Amount Of Data Available
The emerging field of Business Analytics combines

methods from:
■ Statistics (exploring & analyzing data).

■ Information systems (collecting & processing data).
■ Management science (optimization models).
to support fact-based decision making.
The Growth Of Big Data & Unstructured Data
Is Changing The Way We Work With Data
■ Big Data is data that is collected:
■ In huge volumes.
■ At very fast rates or velocities.
■ Typically in near real time.
■ In a variety of forms.
■ Unstructured Data:
■ Has little or no repeating internal structure.
■ Usually requires preprocessing prior to analysis.
■ Takes many forms (unstructured text, pictures, videos,
audio tracks, etc).
Operational Definition Of Some Terms
DCOVA
VARIABLE
A characteristic or property of an item or individual.
DATA
The set of values associated with one or more
variables.
STATISTIC
A value that summarizes the data of a particular
variable.
Operational Definition Of Some Terms
DCOVA
Descriptive Statistics
The methods that primarily help summarize and
present data.
Inferential Statistics
Methods that use data collected from a small group to
reach conclusions about a larger group.
Can Statistics Lie?
■ Faulty or invalid statistics can be produced if:
■ There is willful misuse or
■ Any tasks in the DCOVA framework are applied
incorrectly.
■ Many statistical methods are valid only if the

data being analyzed have certain properties.
■ For inferential methods you should always look

for logical causality (plausibly claim something
directly causes something else).
How To Use This Book
■ The Using Statistics scenario at the beginning and
end of each chapter provide:
■ A real business situation that the chapter’s topics can
help address.
■ Context which is an important part of the learning
process.
■ Throughout each chapter you will find Excel and
Tableau (in some chapters) solutions to example
problems.
■ Numerous case studies are provided so you can:
■ Apply what you have learned.
■ Enhance your analytical & communication skills.
Software and Statistics
■ Software is used in statistics to assist you in
applying statistical methods.
■ This book uses two software packages:
■ Microsoft Excel – Microsoft Office’s data analysis
application.
■ Tableau -- Data visualization and analysis application.
■ Both of these software packages can be used to

learn and practice the statistical methods in this
book.
Basic Computing Skills You Need To
Use Chapter Software Guides
Skill or Operation Specifics
Identify and use Title bar, minimize/resize/close buttons, scroll
standard window bars, mouse pointer, menu bars or ribbons, dialog
objects box, window subdivisions such as areas, panes,
or child windows.
Identify and use Command button, list box, drop-down list, edit
common dialog box box, option button, check box, tabs (tabbed
items panels).
Mouse operations Click, called select in some list or menu contexts

and check or clear in some check box contexts;
double-click; right-click to make a shortcut menu
appear; drag and drad-and-drop.
Microsoft Excel Is The Primary Data
Analysis Application In Microsoft Office
■ Excel uses worksheets (spreadsheets) to both store
data and present analysis results.
■ A worksheet has rows and columns.
■ The intersection of a specific row and column is called a
cell and is where data is stored.
■ Standard business practice is to store the data
associated with a variable in a column.
■ Excel saves files that it calls workbooks.
■ A workbook is a collection of worksheets and chart
sheets.
■ An Excel file is typically saved in an .xlsx or .xls format.
How Can I Use Excel With This Book
■ Excel can be used to learn and apply the statistical
methods discussed in this book.
■ Excel can be used by utilizing the Excel add-in
PHStat:
■ PHStat is available with an access code.
■ PHStat simplifies the task of operating Excel.
■ Excel can also be used via Excel Guide workbooks.
■ Excel can also be used via Microsoft-supplied
ToolPak.
■ The Excel Guides explain how to use each method.
Tableau Differences
■ Tableau also uses workbooks to store one or
more worksheets.
■ A Tableau workbook contains worksheets that
present tabular and visual summaries with a
data source.
■ A data source is a pointer to data that may be a
complex collection of data or a simple Excel
worksheet.
■ Data sources can be viewed and column
formulas can be used to define new columns.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter we have seen:
■ Statistics is a way of thinking that can lead to better
decision making.
■ Statistics requires analytical skills and is an important part
of your business education.

■ Recent developments such as the use of business
analytics and “big data” have made knowing statistics
even more critical.
■ The DCOVA framework guides your application of
statistics.
■ The opportunity business analytics represent for business
students.

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Chapter 0

First Things First

of your business education.

■ Modern-day information technology enables

■ Vast amounts of summarized, unsummarized,

■ Software to perform calculations.

■ Business statistics provides a formal basis to:

■ Summarize and visualize business data.

■ Reach conclusions from business data.

■ Make reliable predictions about business activities.

■ Improve business processes.

■ Define the data you want to study to solve a

The emerging field of Business Analytics combines

■ Statistics (exploring & analyzing data).

to support fact-based decision making.

■ Many statistical methods are valid only if the

■ For inferential methods you should always look

■ Both of these software packages can be used to

Mouse operations Click, called select in some list or menu contexts

of your business education.

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