TOPIC 1

INTRODUCTION TO
STATISTICS
MISS IBTIHAAJ KAMARUZAMAN
STA104
OBJECTIVES

By the end of this topic, students will be able to:

• Define the terms in statistics

• Define the types of statistics

• Apply the most suitable sampling technique in a specific situation

• Apply the most suitable data collection method in a specific situation.

What is statistic?

• The science of collection, organizing,

analyzing, interpreting and presenting data.

• Based on the analyzed data, conclusion can be

made based on the characteristic of population
and decision can be make for future action.
What is statistic?
COLLECTION

ORGANIZING

ANALYZING

INTERPRETING

PRESENTING
Application Areas of Statistics

Accounting Management
- Auditing - Describe employees
- Costing - Quality improvement

Finance Marketing
- Financial trends - Consumer preferences
- Forecasting - Marketing mix effects
 Types of
Statistics

Descriptive Inferential
Statistics Statistics
Type of Statistics
Descriptive Statistics

• Data are compiled, organised, summarised and

presented in suitable visual form which are easy to
understand and suitable for use.

• Aim - study the characteristic of data

• Data - presented by using graphs/charts
Type of Statistics
Descriptive Statistics
Type of Statistics
Inferential statistics

• Make generalizations about a population by analyzing the

sample by using statistical tools.

• Aims
 Determine decision about the information is true and
acceptable.
 Draw inferences about the characteristic of the whole
population based on sample.
Type of Statistics
Inferential statistics
Comparison
Basic terms
Term Meaning
Element An object on which measurement is taken
Population Collection of element of interest from all object of interest
Sample Portion of population of interest
Census A study of the entire population.
Sample survey A study of the sample.
Variables Any characteristics of the population under study
Data Observation that have been collected
Parameter A numerical descriptive measure of the population
Statistic A numerical descriptive measure of the sample
Random Choice of object in group has same chance of being selected
Pilot study Small experiment to gather information for a larger study
Example of case study
A study was conducted to measure the academic performance of students at
UiTM Raub in a statistics subject. There are 500 students and only 50 selected
students will be the respondents.
Source of data
Primary data

• First hand and not analyzed yet

• Collected by investigator himself
• Advantages
The investigator is aware of any limitation
More accurate and consistent with the objective of the study
• Disadvantages
Inconvenient required more time, effort and money
Source of data
Secondary data

• Second hand data and the data is taken from other investigator’s
collection.
• Advantages
 More convenient
 Data help you decide what further research needs to be done.
• Disadvantages
 Transcription error
 May not meet the objectives of current research
 expensive
 Type of variables

Qualitative Quantitative

* Cannot be expressed by * Can be expressed by number

number * Two types:
* Example: * Discrete data
* Gender * Finite number or a
* Type of cars countable number
* Color of cars * Example: number of car,
* etc number of children, etc.
* Continuous data
* Infinite number
* Example: height, weight, etc
 Type of variables

Qualitative Quantitative

Discrete Continuous

Ordinal Interval
Scale of
Measurement
Nominal Ratio
 Level of measurement
 A scale in which the
numbers or letters are
assigned to objects serve
as labels for identification
or classification.
 Example: gender, marital
status, ethnic group,
programme
 A scale that is can be
arranged in ranking,
orders or rating.
 Example: education level,
job position, customer
satisfaction level
 Similar to interval scale
except that they have
“meaningful zero”.
 Starting point cannot be
negative value (Absolute).
NOMINAL RATIO  Example: Weight, income
 The different between data
values are meaningful but
ORDINAL INTERVAL cannot be manipulated with
multiplication and division .
 Example: Temperature,
time
 Does not have a “true or
meaningful zero”
Exercise 1
State the type of measurements (nominal/ordinal/interval/ratio) for each of the
following data:

a) Examination scores for statistics

b) Blood type
c) Ratings given to the lecture room conditions
d) The weights of beauty contestants
e) Shoe size
f) The top three bestselling car models in Malaysia
g) Football teams ranking by FIFA
h) Time taken to serve a customer at the post office counter
i) The distance jumped by the athletes
j) Brands of electric fans.
Exercise 2
State the type of variables for each of the following statement:
( [a] Quantitative variable / [b] Qualitative variable )

1. Time taken to finish a test

2. Brand of shirt bought by customers
3. Mass of football used by students in a school
4. Quantity of petrol sold by petrol stations in Bukit Tinggi, Klang
5. Number of houses in Shah Alam
6. Number of students who scored As in SPM examination
7. Types of cars driven by students in college
8. Gender of students who sang in a concert