UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MINDANAO

An Introduction to
Statistics
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Explain why knowledge of statistics is important.
• Define statistics and provide an example of how statistics
is applied.
• Differentiate between descriptive and inferential
statistics.
• Classify variables as qualitative or quantitative, and
discrete or continuous.
• Distinguish among nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio
levels of measurement.
 WHY STUDY STATISTICS?

(1)data are collected everywhere and require

statistical knowledge to make the
information useful,
(2)statistical techniques are used to make
professional and personal decisions, and
(3)no matter what your career, you will need
a knowledge of statistics to understand the
world and to be conversant in your career.
 WHAT IS MEANT BY STATISTICS?
• This question can be rephrased in two, subtly
different ways: what are statistics and what is
statistics?
• To answer the first question, a statistic is a number
used to communicate a piece of information.
• The inflation rate is 2.3%.
• Your grade point average is 2.5.
• if we recognize that each of these statistics is part
of a larger discussion, then the question “what is
statistics” is applicable.
 WHAT IS MEANT BY STATISTICS?
STATISTICS The science of collecting, organizing,
presenting, analyzing, and interpreting data to
assist in making more effective decisions.
• The inflation rate for the calendar year was
2.3%. By applying statistics we could compare
this year’s inflation rate to the past
observations of inflation. Is it higher, lower, or
about the same? Is there a trend of increasing
or decreasing inflation? Is there a relationship
between interest rates and government bonds?
 Frito-Lay Volume and Share of Major Snack Chip
Categories in U.S. Supermarkets

These examples show that statistics is more than

the presentation of numerical information.
Statistics is about collecting and processing
information to create a conversation, to stimulate
additional questions, and to provide a basis for
making decisions.
 TYPES OF STATISTICS
• DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS Used to summarize and
describe data.
• Data gathered on a group to describe or reach
conclusions about that same group.
• Include measures like mean, median, mode, and standard
deviation.

• Filipinos spend an average of P1,421 on Valentine’s Day–related

gifts in 2021.
 TYPES OF STATISTICS
• INFERENTIAL STATISTICS The methods used to
estimate a property of a population on the basis of a
sample.
• Involves techniques like hypothesis testing and
regression analysis.

POPULATION The entire set of individuals or objects of

interest or the measurements obtained from all individuals
or objects of interest.
SAMPLE A portion, or part, of the population of interest.
 TYPES OF STATISTICS
During the week of October 1, 2019, Gallup polled a
random sample of 1,526 adults, aged 18 years and
older, living in the United States and the District of
Columbia regarding their view of “Big Business.” In
the 18-to-29-year age group, 44% indicated having a
positive image of Big Business, while over 50% of the
respondents in older age groups indicated a positive
image of Big Business. In general, we can infer that
older age groups view Big Business more positively
than the 18-to-29-year age group.
 TYPES OF STATISTICS
• A descriptive measure of the population is called a
parameter.
• Parameters are usually denoted by Greek letters.
Examples of parameters are
• population mean (µ), population variance (σ²), and
population standard deviation (σ).
• A descriptive measure of a sample is called a statistic.
• Statistics are usually denoted by Roman letters.
• Examples of statistics are sample mean ( ) sample
variance (s2), and sample standard deviation (s).
 REVIEW
The Atlanta-based advertising firm Brandon and Associates
asked a sample of 1,960 consumers to try a newly
developed chicken dinner by Boston Market. Of the 1,960
sampled, 1,176 said they would purchase the dinner if it
were marketed.

• Is this an example of descriptive statistics or inferential

statistics? Explain.
• What could Brandon and Associates report to Boston
Market regarding acceptance of the chicken dinner in the
population?
 TYPES OF VARIABLES

(1) Qualitative - When an object or

individual is observed and recorded as a
nonnumeric characteristic.
• gender, beverage preference, type of vehicle owned,
state of birth, and eye color.
(2) Quantitative - Reported numerically.
• balance in your checking account, the number of
gigabytes of data used on your cell phone plan last
month, the life of a car battery (such as 42 months),
and the number of people employed by a company.
 TYPES OF VARIABLES
Quantitative variables are either discrete or
continuous.

• Discrete variables can assume only certain

values, and there are “gaps” between the values.
• Typically, discrete variables are counted.
• number of bedrooms in a house (1, 2, 3, 4,
etc.), the number of cars (326, 421, etc.)
 TYPES OF VARIABLES
• Continuous variable can assume any value
within a specific range.
• Typically, continuous variables result from
measuring.
• air pressure in a tire and the weight of a
shipment of tomatoes.
• GPA of a particular student as 3.2576952.
 LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
NOMINAL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT Data recorded at
the nominal level of measurement are represented as
labels or names. They have no order. They can only be
classified and counted.
• For example, a random sample of M&M candies reports
the following percentages for each color:
 LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
ORDINAL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT Data recorded at
the ordinal level of measurement is based on a relative
ranking or rating of items based on a defined attribute or
qualitative variable.
• Variables based on this level of measurement are only
ranked or counted.
• “Overall, how do you rate the quality of instruction in this
class?” (inferior, poor, good, excellent, and superior).
• We do not know if the difference between “Superior” and
“Good” is the same as the difference between “Poor” and
“Inferior.”
 LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
INTERVAL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT For data recorded
at the interval level of measurement, the interval or the
distance between values is meaningful. The interval level
of measurement is based on a scale with a known unit of
measurement.
• 0 is just a point on the scale. It does not represent the
absence of the condition.
• women’s dress sizes:
 LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
RATIO LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT Data recorded at the
ratio level of measurement are based on a scale with a
known unit of measurement and a meaningful
interpretation of zero on the scale.
• The ratio level is the “highest” level of measurement. It
has all the characteristics of the interval level, but, in
addition, the 0 point and the ratio between two numbers
are both meaningful.
• wages, units of production, weight, changes in stock
prices, distance between branch offices, and height.
 Comparing the Level of
Measurements
• Nominal data are the most limited data in terms of the
types of statistical analysis that can be used with them.
• Statistical techniques can be separated into two
categories:

• Parametric statistics require that data be interval or

ratio.
• If the data are nominal or ordinal, nonparametric
statistics must be used. Nonparametric statistics can
also be used to analyze interval or ratio data.
 REVIEW

• The mean age of people who listen to talk

radio is 42.1 years. What level of
measurement is used to assess the variable
age?
• In a survey of luxury-car owners, 8% of the
U.S. population own luxury cars. In California
and Georgia, 14% of people own luxury cars.
Two variables are included in this
information. What are they and how are they
measured?