Statistics

S T A T I S T I C S

Chapter 1 of the sources introduces the fundamental concepts of statistics, defining it as “the art of learning from data” . This field involves the collection, description, and analysis of data, which ultimately leads to drawing meaningful conclusions.

The chapter is organised into three main sections:

1. Population and Sample

To understand data, you must first define the group you are studying. The sources distinguish between two levels of data collection:

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Population

This is the total collection of all elements that a researcher is interested in.

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Sample

This is a subgroup of the population that is chosen to be studied in detail.

Example

If a researcher conducts a survey to understand house prices across the entire state of Tamil Nadu but only selects 1,000 houses from urban areas to study:

The population consists of all houses in Tamil Nadu .
The sample is the specific group of 1,000 houses selected .

2. Major Branches of Statistics

The sources divide the study of statistics into two primary branches based on the goal of the researcher:

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Descriptive Statistics

This branch focuses on the description and summarisation of data. This can involve creating numerical or graphical summaries to highlight the main points of a dataset. A descriptive study can be performed on either a sample or an entire population.

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Inferential Statistics

This branch is concerned with drawing conclusions from the data.

3. Purpose of Statistical Analysis

The choice between descriptive and inferential statistics depends on the purpose of the study:

Descriptive Study Purpose

Used when the goal is to examine and explore information only about the collected data.

Example: If a teacher calculates that the average mark of a specific class of 50 students is 65, this is descriptive because they are simply summarising the data for that specific group.

Inferential Study Purpose

Used when information is taken from a sample to make conclusions or inferences about the larger population.

Example: If a teacher wants to know the average marks of all students in a large school, they might take a sample of students, find their average (e.g., 60 marks), and use statistical techniques to conclude that the average for the entire school is likely 60.

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The Soup Ladle Analogy

Think of a large pot of soup as the population.

To know if the soup is good, you don’t need to eat the whole pot; you take a single spoonful, which is your sample.
If you describe the taste of just that one spoonful (e.g., “this spoonful is salty”), you are using descriptive statistics.
If you use that one spoonful to decide that the entire pot of soup is salty, you are performing inferential statistics.