Basic Statistics & Data Literacy
A practical study guide covering the core statistical concepts needed to understand and interpret data, from
descriptive statistics through hypothesis testing.
1. Types of Data
• Qualitative (categorical): describes categories or labels, e.g., eye color, country of birth
• Quantitative (numerical): describes measurable quantities, e.g., height, income
• Discrete data: countable values (number of children)
• Continuous data: any value within a range (temperature, time)
• Levels of measurement: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio, in increasing order of mathematical precision
2. Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics summarize and organize data without drawing conclusions beyond the data itself.
Measures of Central Tendency
These describe the 'center' of a data set: the mean, median, and mode. The mean is sensitive to outliers, while the
median is more robust.
Measures of Spread
These describe how data is distributed:
• Range: the difference between the highest and lowest values
• Variance: the average squared distance from the mean
• Standard deviation: the square root of variance, expressed in the original units
• Interquartile range (IQR): the range of the middle 50% of data, used to detect outliers
3. Key Terms
Term Meaning
Mean The arithmetic average of a data set
Median The middle value when data is ordered
Mode The most frequently occurring value
Standard deviation A measure of how spread out data is from the mean
p-value The probability of observing results as extreme as the data, assuming the
null hypothesis is true
4. Probability Basics
• Probability ranges from 0 (impossible) to 1 (certain)
• Independent events: the outcome of one does not affect the other (e.g., two coin flips)
• Dependent events: the outcome of one affects the probability of the other
• Conditional probability: the probability of an event given that another has occurred
5. Distributions
The Normal Distribution
A symmetric, bell-shaped distribution where most values cluster around the mean. Many natural phenomena
approximate a normal distribution, which underlies much of classical statistics.
• Roughly 68% of data falls within 1 standard deviation of the mean
• Roughly 95% falls within 2 standard deviations
• Roughly 99.7% falls within 3 standard deviations
Skewed Distributions
When data is not symmetric, it is described as skewed. In a right (positive) skew, the tail extends toward higher
values; in a left (negative) skew, the tail extends toward lower values.
6. Inferential Statistics
Inferential statistics use a sample to draw conclusions about a larger population.
• Population: the entire group of interest
• Sample: a subset of the population actually measured
• Sampling error: the natural difference between a sample statistic and the true population parameter
• Confidence interval: a range of values likely to contain the true population parameter, with a stated
confidence level (e.g., 95%)
7. Hypothesis Testing
A structured method for deciding whether evidence supports a claim about a population.
• Null hypothesis (H0): assumes no effect or no difference
• Alternative hypothesis (H1): assumes there is an effect or difference
• Significance level (alpha): the threshold for rejecting the null hypothesis, commonly set at 0.05
• p-value below alpha: reject the null hypothesis; result is 'statistically significant'
• Type I error: incorrectly rejecting a true null hypothesis (false positive)
• Type II error: failing to reject a false null hypothesis (false negative)
8. Correlation vs. Causation
A correlation measures how strongly two variables move together, typically expressed as a correlation coefficient (r)
between -1 and 1. A strong correlation does not prove that one variable causes the other; a third, unmeasured
variable may explain both, or the relationship may be coincidental.
Quick Review Questions
• When would you use the median instead of the mean to describe a data set?
• What does a standard deviation tell you about a distribution?
• What percentage of data falls within 2 standard deviations of the mean in a normal distribution?
• What is the difference between a Type I and Type II error?
• Why doesn't correlation imply causation?