STATISTICS is a group of methods used to collect,

analyze, present, and interpret data for the purpose of

making more effective decisions.

Statistics has two aspects:

Theoretical Statistics deals with the development,

derivation, and proof of statistical theorems, formulas,
rules and laws.
Applied Statistics involves the application of those
theorems, formulas, rules, laws to solve- real-world
problems.
Applied statistics can be divided into two areas:
1. Descriptive Statistics consists of methods used to
summarize and describe the important characteristics of
data
2. Inferential Statistics consists of methods that use
sample results to help make decisions or predictions
about a population
Basic Terms
A population is a collection of all possible individuals,
objects, or measurements of interest. A sample is a
subset of a population.
A parameter is a numerical measurement describing
some characteristics of a population. A statistic is a
numerical measurement describing some characteristics
of a sample. We use statistic as an estimate of the
parameter.
Quantitative variable is a variable that can be
measured numerically.
Qualitative variable is a variable that cannot assume
numerical value but can be classified into categories.

A discrete variable can assume only a finite or

countable number of values.
A continuous variable can assume the infinitely many
values corresponding to the points on a line interval.
Levels of Measurement
Variables can also be classified according to how they
are categorized, counted or measured.

1. Nominal level of measurement refers to data that

can only be counted and put into categories. There is
no particular order for the groupings.

2. Ordinal level of measurement presumes that one

category is higher than the other.
3. Interval level of measurement includes the ranking
characteristics of the ordinal measurement with an
additional property that specifies that the distance
between numbers is the same.

4. Ratio level of measurement has all the

characteristics of the interval level of measurement, in
addition it includes the inherent zero starting point and
the ratio between two numbers is meaningful.
Why Sample the Population?
Some the major reasons why sampling is necessary are:
1. The destructive nature of certain tests.
2. The physical impossibility of checking all items in
the population.
3. The cost of studying all the items in a population is
often prohibitive.
4. The adequacy of sample results.
5. To contact the whole population would often be
time-consuming.
Basic Methods of Sampling
1. Random Sampling – all members of the population
have the same chance of being selected for the sample.
2. Systematic Sampling – a random starting point is
selected, and then every kth item is selected for the
sample.
3. Stratified Sampling – the population is divided into
several groups, or strata, and then a sample is selected
from each stratum.
4. Cluster Sampling – the population is divided into
primary units, and then samples are drawn from the
primary units.
When data are collected, the information obtained from
a population or sample may be recorded in a sequence
that is random or unranked. Such data are called raw
data.
For example, we collect information on the ages of 50
students selected from a university.
21 19 24 25 29
18 20 19 22 19
25 19 31 19 23
22 28 21 20 22
25 23 18 37 27
34 26 27 37 33
19 25 22 25 23
18 23 19 23 26
22 21 20 19 21
23 21 25 21 24
When the bulk of data is quite large, a good over-all
picture of all the information needed can be presented
by grouping the data into a number of categories.

Frequency Distribution – a grouping of the data into

categories showing the number of observations in each
category.
The data presented in a frequency distribution table are
called grouped data.
Steps in Developing a Frequency Distribution

1. Determine the number of classes (avoid having

fewer than 5 or more than 15 classes).
To determine the suggested number of classes, find the
smallest integer k such that 2𝑘 ≥ n, where n is the total
number of observations.
Alternatively, make use of the Sturges’ Formula:
k = 1 + 3.3 log n
where k refers to the number of classes and n is the total
number of observations
2. Decide on the size of the class interval. A suggested
class interval can be found by

𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 – 𝐿𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠

3. Tally the raw data into the classes to arrive at the

frequency distribution.
Important Terms
Class - grouping of values in a frequency distribution.
Class Interval - the range of values of a given class
Class Limits - the boundaries of an interval
Class Boundary – the midpoint of the upper limit of
one class and the lower limit of the next class
Class Frequency – the number of values in a data set
that belong to a certain class
Class Mark - the midpoint between class limits of a
class interval
Class Width (or Size) – The difference between the
two boundaries of a class
Relative Frequency and Percentage Distribution
It may be desirable to convert class frequencies to
relative class frequencies to show the percent of the
total number of observations in each class.
To covert the class frequencies in a frequency
distribution to relative frequencies, the frequency of
class is divided by the sum of all frequencies.
The percentage for a class is obtained by multiplying
the relative frequency of that class by 100.
Cumulative Frequency Distribution
A cumulative frequency distribution gives the total
number if values that fall below the upper boundary of
each class.
It is obtained by adding frequencies successively from
the lowest to the highest class interval.
Graphic Presentation of a Frequency Distribution
1. Histogram – a graph in which classes are marked on
the horizontal axis and frequencies are marked on the
vertical axis.
2. Polygon – a graph formed by joining the midpoints
of the tops of successive bars in a histogram by straight
lines.
3. Ogive – is a curve drawn for the cumulative
distribution