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Chapter 1. Stats Starts Here . 15 min. What Is (Are?) Statistics?. Statistics (the discipline) is the science of collecting, analyzing, presenting and interpreting the data. It is a way of reasoning, a collection of tools and methods, designed to help us understand the world.
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Chapter 1 Stats Starts Here 15 min
What Is (Are?) Statistics? • Statistics (the discipline) is the science of collecting, analyzing, presenting and interpreting the data. It is a way of reasoning, a collection of tools and methods, designed to help us understand the world. • Statistics (plural) are particular calculations made from data. • Data are values with a context.
Question • Do those high center brake lights, required on all cars sold in U.S since 1986, really reduce rear-end collisions? • Randomized comparative experiments with fleets of rental and business cars, done before the lights were required, show that the third brake light reduced rear-end collisions by as much as 50%. • Alas, requiring the third light in all cars led to only 5% drop. Why?
Two Types of Statistics • Descriptive Statistics refers to methods for summarizing and organizing the information in a data set. • Inferential Statistics consists of methods for estimating and drawing conclusions about population characteristics based on the information contained in a subset (sample) of that population.
Example State whether the following situations illustrate the use of descriptive or inferential statistics. • The average for the first test in this class is 75% with the highest score being 99%. • In a survey of 1000 citizens in Seattle, Washington, metropolitan area, 570 said they would pay higher prices in order to reduce greenhouse emissions. City planners conclude that 57% of all Seattle citizens would do so. • GCC enrollments this semester is up 14% compared to last fall.
Facts about Statistics • Statistics is about variation. • Statistics gives us a way to work with the variability in the world around us. • Statistics helps us understand the real, imperfect world in which we live. • All measurements are imperfect, since there is variation that we cannot see. • Probability must be involved to predict chances or errors associated with the conclusions.
A First Course in Statistics • Statistics course is not really a math course! (like accounting) • Statistics can be fun! Learning to think clearly with data will open your eyes to seeing the world more clearly… • Example: ASU president Michael Crow proposed tuition increase by showing the fact that tuition cost at ASU isstill in the lower one-third of senior research university tuitions.
Example • ASU president Michael Crow once claimed that “Of students enrolled in the Maricopa County Community College District who are eligible to move into a state university, only 15 percent ever receive a degree.” Actual statistics: “39% of the students are attending college with a goal of transferring to a university, a decrease of about 1%, while 41% have a goal of obtaining training so they can enter the workforce, an increase of 2%. Another 16% said they were attending college for personal enrichment.”