Chapter 1

The Role of Statistics

and the Data Analysis
Process
What is statistics?

• the science of collecting,

analyzing, and drawing
conclusions from data
Why should one study
statistics? Can dogs help
patients with
1. To be informed . heart
.. failure by
reducing
a) Extract information stress
from tables, charts
and graphs and anxiety?
b) Follow numerical arguments
c) Understand the basics
Whenof how data should
people take
be gathered, summarized, and analyzed to
a vacation do they
draw statistical conclusions
really leave work
behind?
Why should one study
statistics? (continued)
Many companies now require drug
2.screening
To makeasinformed judgments
a condition of employment.
With these screening tests there is a
risk of a false-positive reading. Is the
If you choose a particular major,
risk of a false result acceptable?
what are your chances of finding a
job when you graduate?
3. To evaluate decisions that affect
your life
What is variability?
Suppose you went into a convenience
In fact,
store variability
to purchase is almost
a soft drink. universal!
Does
every can on the shelf contain exactly 12
ounces?
It is variability that makes
life interesting!!
NO – there may be a little more or less in
the various cans due to the variability
that is inherent in the filling process.
If the Shoe Fits ...

The two histograms to

the right display the
distribution of heights Heights – Figure A

of gymnasts and the

distribution of heights
of female basketball
players. Which is
which? Why?
Heights – Figure B
If the Shoe Fits ...

Suppose you found a pair of size 6 shoes

left outside the locker room. Which team
would you go to first to find the owner of
the shoes? Why?

Suppose a tall woman (5 ft 11 in) tells you

see is looking for her sister who is
practicing with a gym. To which team
would you send her? Why?
The Data Analysis Process
1. Understand the nature of the problem

It is important
2. Decide to haveand
what to measure a clear
how to
It is important
direction
measure it beforetogathering
select and apply
data.
the appropriate inferential
3. Collect data
It is important to carefully
statistical methods define
the
It isThis step to
variables
important often leads toand
be understand
to studied the to
how
formulation
4. Summarize
develop
data data of
and
appropriate
is collected new research
perform
methods
because the for
type
preliminary
analysisanalysis
of determining questions.
thattheir values.
is appropriate
5. Perform
Thisdepends formal
initial analysis
analysis
on how provides
the data insight
was
into importantcollected!
characteristics of the
6. Interpret results data.
Suppose we wanted to know the
average GPA of high school
graduates in the nation this year.

We could collect data from all

high schools in the nation.
What term would be used to describe
“all high school graduates”?
Population
• The entire collection of
individuals or objects about which
information is desired

What do you call it when

• A census is performed to gather
you collect data about
about the entire population the
entire population?
GPA Continued:
Suppose we wanted to know the
average GPA of high school
graduates in the nation this year.
Why might we not want to use
a census here?

We could collect data from all

high schools in the nation.
If we didn’t perform a
census, what would we do?
Sample

• A subset of the population, selected

for study in some prescribed manner

What would a sample of all high school graduates

across the nation look like?

High school graduates from each state

(region), ethnicity, gender, etc.
GPA Continued:
Suppose we wanted to know the
Once we have collected the
average GPA of high school
data, what would we do with
graduates in the nation this year.
it?

We could collect data from a sample

of high schools in the nation.
Descriptive statistics
• the methods of organizing &
summarizing data

If the sample of high school GPAs contained

1,000 numbers, how could the data be organized
or summarized?

• Create a graph
• State the range of GPAs
• Calculate the average GPA
GPA Continued:
Suppose we wanted to know the
average GPA of high school graduates
in the nation this year.

We could collect data from a sample

Could we use the data from our
of high schools in the nation.
sample to answer this question?
Inferential statistics
• involves making generalizations from
a sample to a population
Based on the sample, if the average GPA for high school
graduates was 3.0, what generalization could be made?

The average national GPA for this year’s

high school graduate is approximately 3.0.
Could someone claim that the average GPA for
Be sure
graduates tolocal
in your sample from the
school district is 3.0?
No. Generalizations based on the results of a sample
population of interest!!
can only be made back to the population from which
the sample came from.
Variable
• any characteristic whose value may
change from one individual to
another

• Suppose we wanted to know the

Is this a variable . . .
average GPA of high school
The number
graduates ofnation
in the wrecks peryear.
this week
at the
Define the variable
intersection outside
of interest.
The variable ofschool?
interest isYES
the
GPA of high school graduates
Data
• The values for a variable from
individual observations

For this variable . . .

The number of wrecks per week at
the intersection outside . . . What
could observations be?
0, 1, 2, …
Two types of variables

categorical numerical

discrete continuous
Categorical variables
• Qualitative

• Identifies basic differentiating

characteristics of the population

Can you name any categorical

variables?
Numerical variables
• quantitative

• observations or measurements take on

numerical values

Cansense
• makes you name any numerical
to average these values
variables?
• two types - discrete & continuous
Discrete (numerical)
• Isolated points along a number line

• usually counts of items

Continuous (numerical)
• Variable that can be any value in a
given interval

• usually measurements of something

Identify the following variables:
1. the color of cars in the teacher’s lot
Categorical

2. the number of calculators owned by

students at your school Discrete numerical

3. the zip code of an individual

Is money a measurement orCategorical
a count?

4. the amount of time it takes students to

Continuous numerical
drive to school
5. the appraised value of discrete
homes in your city
numerical
 Classifying variables by the
number of variables in a data set
Suppose that the PE coach records the
height of each student in his class.

This is an example of a
univariate data

Univariate - data that describes a single

characteristic of the population
 Classifying variables by the
number of variables in a data set
Suppose that the PE coach records the
height and weight of each student in his
class.
This is an example of a
bivariate data

Bivariate - data that describes two

characteristics of the population
 Classifying variables by the
number of variables in a data set
Suppose that the PE coach records the
height, weight, number of sit-ups, and
number of push-ups for each student in
his class.
This is an example of a
multivariate data

Multivariate - data that describes more than

two characteristics (beyond the scope of this
course)
Bar Chart
When to Use Categorical data

How to construct
– Draw a horizontal line; write the categories
or labels below the line at regularly spaced
intervals
– Draw a vertical line; label the scale using
frequency or relative frequency
– Place equal-width rectangular bars above
each category label with a height determined
by its frequency or relative frequency
Bar Chart (continued)
What to Look For
Frequently or infrequently occurring
categories

Collect the following data and then display the data in a bar
chart:
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry,

or other
Dotplot
When to Use Small numerical data
sets

How to construct
– Draw a horizontal line and mark it with an
appropriate numerical scale
– Locate each value in the data set along the scale
and represent it by a dot. If there are two are
more observations with the same value, stack the
dots vertically
Dotplot (continued)
What to Look For
– The representative or typical value
– The extent to which the data values spread out
– The nature of the distribution along the number line
– The presence of unusual values

Collect the following data and then display the data in a dotplot:

How many body piercings do

you have?