Statistics

Statistics is a type of data analysis which practice includes the planning, summarizing, and interpreting of observations of a system possibly followed by predicting or forecasting of future events based on a mathematical model of the system being observed. Statistics is a branch of applied mathematics specifically in the area of statistical theory which uses probability theory in the mathematical models.

Related Topics:
Data analysis - Planning - Observations - System - Forecasting - Mathematical model - Applied mathematics - Statistical theory - Probability theory

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The basic tenet of statistics is that a population can be represented by a sample of the population when the sample is sufficiently large and when the sample is composed of a random selection of units (persons, components, or of whatever the population is composed) from the population. Statistical theory provides methods for determining how large a sample is needed to provide for statistically significant results.

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There are two major types of statistics, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics describe or summarize the observed measurements of a system. Inferential statistics are used to infer, predict, or forecast future outcomes, tendencies, and behaviors of a system.

Related Topics:
Descriptive statistics - Inferential statistics

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Statistics are used in a wide variety of academic disciplines especially the various disciplines within the social sciences, biological sciences, and other areas of study involving complex systems. Statistics are used in business for statistical process control, quality control, marketing and other day to day activities. Statistics are used in sports to describe the expertise and abilities of sports participants. Statistics are used in government for a variety of purposes. The most well known type of statistical procedure performed by government is the census in which various statistics are collected about the national population.

Related Topics:
Academic discipline - Social science - Biological science - Complex system - Statistical process control - Quality control - Marketing - Sport - Government - Census

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Polling of a sample of a population is a typical use of statistics by political parties and the news media to determine popular opinion on particular topics. This process of sampling the population must use a process of random selection of respondents (people answering the questions of the poll) from the general population in order for the sample to have a chance of representing the general population from which it is selected.

Related Topics:
Polling - Political parties - News media

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Statistics is a partial foundation of the relatively new field of data mining, which uses a combination of statistics, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, and other algorithms to find meaningful information in large sets of data.

Related Topics:
Data mining - Pattern recognition - Artificial intelligence

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