STATISTICS ONE 2023
(101- Welcome to statistics)
Why statistics?
- Make sense of collected data
- Discover patterns and causal relationships
- Possibilities and limitations of sampling
- Critical reflection on existing research
- Become critical observers of news
https://levente.littvay.hu/chromebook/
(102- Variables and levels of measurement)
Variable
“Any characteristics, number, or quantity that can be measured and can differ across entities
or across time.’
Types of variables
- Variables have different scales or “levels of measurements”
- levels of measurements = nature of information of the values assigned to variables
Levels of measurement: categorical
nominal variables
● two or more exclusive categories
● no natural order
○ eye color
○ marital status
○ hair color
● no arithmetic operations possible (substraction, addition)
ordinal variables
● clear ordering of the values; low-high, little-much, small-large
○ education level (high school, college)
○ political interest (low, high, middle)
○ agreement to a statement (strongly disagree, agree, etc)
● distance between values not the same across levels
, ● comparative but only relative
Levels of measurement: numerical
Continuous variables
● can be measured to any level of precision
● in decimals or fractures
e.g. ‘height’ can take on any value (175,25252637 cm
● continuous variables can be ‘measured’ in discrete terms
discrete variables
● only certain, countable values (usually whole numbers) are possible
○ number of pets
○ points in exam
○ car accident
● are always discrete terms
Alternative levels of measurement
Two forms of ‘continuous variables:
1. interval; numerical variable but the zero is arbitrary/meaningless
zero is just another point at the scale but is not important (farenheit, kelvin)
2. ratio; like interval but meaningful zero (height, weight, salary)
(103- Measurement of central tendency)
When we collect date, we can show how the values are distributed in relation to other values
Frequency distribution = display of the pattern of frequencies of a variable of a statistical
data set
- show all the possible values (or intervals) of the data and how often (i.e. frequent)
they occur
,How can we summarize/describe distributions of variables
Option 1: Visualize date
Option 2: Calculate measures to summarize date
- Measure of central tendency = a value that describes a set of date by
identifying the central position within that set of date
- Measure of dispersion = how s t r e t c h e d or squeezed is the distribution?
(1) mode
➔ Most frequent score in a dataset (most big)
➔ Data with one mode is ‘unimodal’
➔ There can be several modes (bimodal)
(2) median
➔ Middle score for a dataset that has been arranged in order of magnitude
, ➔ What happens with an even number of scores?
➔ Also possible for ordinal variables
➔ Mean is sensitive to extreme values (outliers)
➔ If extreme values are in the data set the median may be more useful
➔ Median = ‘robust’ statistic
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller liekevanlunen. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $9.95. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.