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Statistics is a field of inquiry that studies the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. It is applicable to a wide variety of academic disciplines , from the physical and social sciences to the humanities ; it is also used and misused for making informed decisions in all areas of business and government .
Forensic statistics is the application of probability models and statistical techniques to scientific evidence, such as DNA evidence, and the law. In contrast to "everyday" statistics, to not engender bias or unduly draw conclusions, forensic statisticians report likelihoods as likelihood ratios (LR).
In business, "statistics" is a widely used management-and decision support tool. It is particularly applied in financial management, marketing management, and production, services and operations management. [69] [70] Statistics is also heavily used in management accounting and auditing.
List of fields of application of statistics; List of graphical methods; List of statistical software. Comparison of statistical packages; List of graphing software; Comparison of Gaussian process software; List of stochastic processes topics; List of matrices used in statistics; Timeline of probability and statistics; List of unsolved problems ...
The related field of mathematical statistics develops statistical theory with mathematics. Statistics, the science concerned with collecting and analyzing data, is an autonomous discipline (and not a subdiscipline of applied mathematics). Catalog of articles in probability theory; List of probability topics; List of stochastic processes topics
Statistics educators have cognitive and noncognitive goals for students. For example, former American Statistical Association (ASA) President Katherine Wallman defined statistical literacy as including the cognitive abilities of understanding and critically evaluating statistical results as well as appreciating the contributions statistical thinking can make.
Some examples of statistics are: "In a recent survey of Americans, 52% of women say global warming is happening." In this case, "52%" is a statistic, namely the percentage of women in the survey sample who believe in global warming.
In his book Statistics as Principled Argument, Robert P. Abelson presents the perspective that statistics serve as a standardized method for resolving disagreements among scientists, who could otherwise engage in endless debates about the merits of their respective positions. From this standpoint, statistics can be seen as a form of rhetoric.