Statistical Fundamentals
When studying statistics, you need to know the difference between a population (the entire group being studied) and a sample (a subset of that population). The individuals in your study could be people, animals, or even objects.
Statistics uses two main approaches. Descriptive statistics organizes and summarizes data using numbers, tables, and graphs, while inferential statistics takes sample results and extends them to make conclusions about the whole population.
Variables are characteristics we measure, and they come in different types. Qualitative variables categorize individuals based on attributes (like hair color), while quantitative variables provide numerical measurements. Quantitative variables can be either discrete (countable values like number of siblings) or continuous (infinite possible values like height or weight).
Quick Tip: Think about measurement levels as a ladder - nominal (categories), ordinal (ranked categories), interval (meaningful differences), and ratio (meaningful ratios). Each level up gives you more mathematical operations you can perform with the data!