Definition of Statistics

Statistics is a branch of Mathematics that

deals with the scientific collection,
organization, presentation, analysis, and
interpretation of numerical data in order to
obtain useful and meaningful information.
Collection of data refers to the process of
obtaining information.

Organization of data refers to the ascertaining

manner of presenting the data into tables,
graphs, or charts so that logical and statistical
conclusions can be drawn from the collected
measurements.
Analysis of data refers to the process of
extracting from the given data relevant
information from which numerical description
can be formulated.

Interpretation of data refers to the task of

drawing conclusions from the analyzed data.
History of Statistics
The processing of statistical information has a
history that extends back to the beginning of
humanity.
* As early as 3800 B.C., there were records
of population in Babylonia and in China.
Babylonia China
* In biblical times, the census was undertaken by
Moses in 1491 B.C. and by David in 1017 B.C..
* Indian literature dating back to the reign of
the northern Hindustan King Asoka (270-230 B.C.)
also described methods of taking census.
 Reign 268–232 BCE

Coronation 268 BCE

304 BCE, Close to

Born
7th Aug

Birthplace Pataliputra, Patna

Died 232 BCE (aged 72)

King Asoka of Place of death Pataliputra, Patna

Northern Hindustan
* The Athenians and other ancient Greeks
conducted the census in times of stress,
counting the adult male citizens in war time
and the general populace every time the food
supply was endangered.
 Athenians

Ancient Greeks
* The Romans registered adult males and their
property for military and administrative
purposes.
* Roman
* The sixth king of Rome, Servinus Tullius (578-
534 B.C.) was given credit for instituting the
gathering of population data.
 Reign c. 578 – 535 BC

Lucius Tarquinius
Predecessor
Priscus

Lucius Tarquinius
Successor
Superbus

Father Unknown

Mother Ocrisia

Servinus Tullius
* Two thousand years ago, each male in the
Roman Empire had to return to the city of his
birth to be counted and taxed. Thus, the Bible
gives an account of the return of Joseph and
Mary to Bethlehem for such purpose, (The
Holy Bible, Luke 2: 4-5).
Joseph and Mary in
Bethlehem
* In the Middle Ages, registrations of
land ownership and manpower for wars were
made.
* In the thirteenth century, tax lists of Paris included
the registration of those who were subjected to tax.
* In England, William the Conqueror required
the compilation of information on population
and resources. The compilation “The
Domesday Book” is the first landmark in
British statistics. Later on, the need to register
births, deaths, baptisms, and marriages was
reinforced as the population grew bigger.
Born: 1028, Château de
Falaise, Falaise, France
Died: September 9, 1087,

Rouen, France

Nickname: William the Bastard

Full Name: William I

Spouse: Matilda of Flanders

Children:
Henry I of England
William II of England
Doomsday Book
* It was Gottfried Achenwall who first
introduced the word statistiks in a preface to a
statistical work. He was a German philosopher,
historian, economist, jurist and statistician. He
is counted among the inventors of statistics.
 Born: October 20, 1719,
Elblag Poland
Died: May 1, 1772
Gottingen, Germany
Education: University of Leipzig

Gottfried Achenwall
* Girolamo Cardano, an Italian mathematician,
physician, and gambler, wrote Liber de Ludo
Aleae in which appeared the first known study
of principles of probability. He wrote more
than 200 works on medicine, mathematics,
physics, philosophy, religion, and music.
Gerolamo Cardano
* Just right after the World War II, the need for a
basic understanding of statistics arose.
Statistical literacy became a necessity in
today’s modern world.
* Nowadays, the use of Statistics has extended
to such things as theater attendance, sports
results, car sales in a certain period of time,
heights, weights, birth rates, death rates, and
other things that can be expressed numerically
1.) Data is any quantitative or qualitative information.

a.) Quantitative data refers to numerical information

obtained from counting or measuring that which be
manipulated by any fundamental operation.

Examples:
age, I.Q. scores, height, weight, income
b.) Qualitative data refers to descriptive
attributes that cannot be subjected to
mathematical operations.

Examples:
gender, citizenship, educational
attainment, religion
2.) Population refers to the totality of all the
elements or persons for which one has an
interest at a particular time.
For example, the members of the faculty of a
school, the graduating class, the Visayan or
Ilocano- speaking employees of a company,
the male students, etc. A particular variable
of a population can be associated to the
population.
A researcher may associate a population to
the ages of graduating students,, the I.Q.
scores, classification of the employees, the
income of single parent, and so on. The usual
notation for population is N.
3.) Sample is a part of population determined by
sampling procedures. It is usually denoted by
n.
4.) Parameter is any statistical information or
attribute taken from a population. It is a true
value or actual statistics since its source is the
population itself.
5.) Statistic is any estimate of statistical
attributes taken from a sample.
6.) Variable is a specific factor, property, or
characteristic of a population or a sample
which differentiates a sample or group of
samples from another group.
For example, the scores obtained from a
co-education class may differ by gender.
Hence, gender is considered variable. In a
catholic congregation, religion cannot be
considered a variable since every member the
population is Catholic.
a.) Discrete variable is a variable that can be
obtained by counting. Examples: the number
of cellphone users in a company, the number
of computers in the laboratory.
b.) Continuous variable is a variable that can
be obtained by measuring objects or
attributes.
Examples: the weight of students, the
temperature in a city over a period of time,
the area of classrooms.
Some univariate statistical terms:
mode: value that occurs most frequently in a
distribution (usually the highest point of curve)
may have more than one mode in a dataset

median: value midway in the frequency distribution

…half the area of curve is to right and other to
left
mean: arithmetic average
…sum of all observations divided by # of
observations
poor measure of central tendency in
skewed distributions
range: measure of dispersion about mean
(maximum minus minimum)
when max and min are unusual values, range
may be a misleading measure of dispersion
 .
Levels of Measurements

 Nominal numbers do not mean

anything; they just label.
Ex: SSS Number
 Ordinal numbers are used to label +
rank.
Ex: size of t-shirt
 Interval numbers are used to label +
rank; do not have a true zero.
Ex: temperature

• Ratio numbers are used to label + rank +

equal unit of interval; have a true zero
Ex: number of votes
 Target Practice

A. Determine whether the set of data is

qualitative or quantitative.
• Models of cell phones
• Number of subscribers to Philippine
Daily News
• Weights of 1000 packs of a brand of
noodles
 • Yes or No responses to survey
question
• Telephone number

B. Identify the level of measurement:

nominal(N), ordinal(O), interval(I), or
ratio(R)most appropriate for each of the
following data.
• Color of the eye
 • Number of votes
• Rank of faculty
• Exam score
• Temperature in Baguio last summer

C. Which of the following numbers is

discrete or continuous?
• Distance from town A to town B
• Record of absent students in a class
in Statistics
• Number of customers in a restaurant
• Number of cars parked in the
basement of a building
• Weights of all Grades 1 pupils in the
Library School