Chapter 1

Introduction to Statistics

Definition
Basic Areas of Statistics
Types of Data Sets &
Measurements
Types of Data & Level of
Measurements
 Learning Objectives
At the end of this chapter, the student is expected
to:
1) define statistics;

2) summarize the different classification of

variables and data; and
3) appreciate the importance and uses of statistics
in all fields of work.
 Statistics
- the science of collecting, organizing,
analyzing, and interpreting data
- set of figures or measures
 Statistician
- a person who collects information or one who
prepares analysis or interpretations

He may be a scholar who develops a

mathematical theory on which the science of
statistics is based.
 Areas of Statistics
1. Descriptive Statistics
2. Inferential Statistics
 Descriptive Statistics
- deals with methods of organizing, summarizing, and
presenting numerical data in a convenient form
- statistician tries to describe a situation

For example
Getting census of the population is or of little value if
it is just a mass of numerical data. It can be
meaningful if it can be organized into a sort of table
called the frequency distribution or of some kind of
graphs.
 Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistical methods could be used to
summarize the data.

For example
Actual sales level
An average weekly sales levels, and
The degree of variation from this average that
weekly sales undergo
 Inferential Statistics
- consist of generalizing from samples to populations
performing hypothesis testing, determining
relationships among variables, and making
predictions
- main concern is to analyze the organized data
leading to prediction or inferences
 Inferential Statistics
It implies that before carrying out an inference,
appropriate and correct descriptive measures or
methods are employed to bring out good results.

For example
Predicting the life span of a mechanical toy gun is
based on the performance of several similar toy
guns.

Its prediction depends on the descriptive statistical

tools to be undertaken.
 Inferential Statistics
Another example
A researcher may wish to know if a new drug will be
effective in reducing the number of heart attacks in
men over 60 years of age.

For this study, two groups of men over 60 would be

selected.

One group would be given the drug, and the other

would be given a placebo. The number of heart
attacks in men would be counted. Statistical test
would then be applied.
 Basic Terms in Statistics
1. Universe
2. Variable
3. Population
4. Sample
5. Parameter
6. Statistic
 Universe
- the collection of things or observational units
under consideration
 Variable
- a characteristic observed or measured on every
unit of the universe
 Population
- the set of all possible values of the variable of
interest
 Sample
- the portion of the population that has been
selected for analysis
- a subset of a population
 Example
Suppose we are interested in studying the factors
related to the student’s performance in Math 28 at
Central Philippine University.

Universe: students of CPU

Variables: Math 28 performance and factors such

as age, grade in College Algebra, year level,
gender
 Example
Suppose we are interested in studying the factors
related to the student’s performance in Math 28 at
Central Philippine University.

Population: ages of all students of CPU enrolled

in Math 28, grades of all students of CPU
enrolled in Math 28

Sample: performance or ages or grades of

students in one section of Math 28
 Parameter
- a numerical measurement obtained using the
population data set
 Statistic
- a numerical measurement obtained using the
sample data set
Types of Data or Variables
1. Qualitative Variables or Categorical
2. Quantitative Variables or Numerical
 Qualitative Variables
- yield categorical responses and answers to “what
kind” questions, non-numerical characteristics or
labels
- represent differences in quality, character, or kind
but not in amount

Examples
eye color, favorite movie, political party affiliation,
blood type, brand of computer, level of customer’s
satisfaction, nationality, student ID number
 Quantitative Variables
- yield numerical responses and answers to “how
many” and “how much” questions, numerical
measurements or quantities
- numerical in nature and can be ordered or ranked

Examples
height, weight, income, resting pulse rate, number of
cell phones owned, household size, number of
students in a Statistics class, proportion of students
who passed Math 28 last semester
 Classifications of
Quantitative Variable
1. Discrete Variable
2. Continuous Variable
 Discrete Variable
- a quantitative variable that can assume a finite
number or utmost countable number of values
- produces numerical responses that arise from a
counting process

Examples
number of magazine subscriber, number of
typhoons, amount of cash in the cash registry,
number of satisfied customers, graduates in a certain
college, number of students in a classroom
 Continuous Variable
- a quantitative variable that can assume an infinite
number of values associated with the values within a
continuum or interval, depending on the precision of
the measuring instrument

Examples
height, length of hair, length of longest long-distance
call made per month, monthly charge of water
consumption
 Levels of Measurement
Data can also be described in terms of the level
of measurement attained.
 Levels of Measurement
1. Nominal Scale
2. Ordinal Scale
3. Interval Scale
4. Ratio Scale
 Nominal Scale
- classifies data into various distinct categories in
which no ordering is implied
- uses numbers for the purpose of identifying name or
membership in a group or category
- observations can be classified and counted without
particular order or ranking imposed on the data

Examples
blood type, course, breed of dog, shape of bacteria
in a Petri dish, internet provider, political party,
religion, telephone number, preferred hobbies
 Nominal Scale
Nominal scaling is the weakest form of
measurement because no attempt can be
made to account differences within a particular
category or to specify any ordering or direction
across the various categories.

All qualitative variables are measured on a

nominal scale.
 Ordinal Scale
- has the characteristics of a nominal scale with an
additional characteristic that categories are ordered

Examples
UAAP basketball ranking, calamity threat level, level
of performance, letter grades, ordering of food by
preference, income category, birth order
 Ordinal Scale
Ordinal scaling is somewhat a stronger form of
measurement because an observed value
classified into one category possesses more of
a property being scaled than does an observed
value classified into another category.

Ordinal scaling is still relatively weak though

because no attempt is made to account for
differences between the classified values.
 Note!!!
Data obtained from categorical variables are
considered to be measured on nominal scale or
on an ordinal scale.
 Interval Scale
- a scale of measure used for data values that are
numerical
- indicates an actual amount and there is equal unit of
measurement separating each data, specifically
equal interval

Examples
temperature, score, grade
 Interval Scale
Ratio between two data values is meaningless.

This occurs when zero is an arbitrary

measurement rather than actually indicating
“nothing”.
 Ratio Scale
- the same with the interval scale
- zero measurement indicates absence of the quantity
being measured

Examples
weight, height, number of children, election votes,
length, area, volume, velocity, money, duration
 Note!!!
Data obtained from numerical variables usually
assumed to have been measured either on an interval
scale or a ratio scale.

These scales constitute the highest levels of

measurement.

They are stronger forms of measurement than an

ordinal scale because you can determine not only
which observed value is the largest but also by how
much.
 Summary Chart for the
Classification of Data
Variables

Qualitative Quantitative
(categorical) (numerical)

Nominal Ordinal Discrete Continuous

Interval Ratio

37