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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 .
A mistrust and misunderstanding of statistics is associated with the quotation, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics". Misuse of statistics can be both inadvertent and intentional, and the book How to Lie with Statistics, [72] by Darrell Huff, outlines a range of considerations. In an attempt to shed light on the ...
The theory of statistics provides a basis for the whole range of techniques, in both study design and data analysis, that are used within applications of statistics. [1] [2] The theory covers approaches to statistical-decision problems and to statistical inference, and the actions and deductions that satisfy the basic principles stated for these different approaches.
Statistical inference makes propositions about a population, using data drawn from the population with some form of sampling.Given a hypothesis about a population, for which we wish to draw inferences, statistical inference consists of (first) selecting a statistical model of the process that generates the data and (second) deducing propositions from the model.
In probability theory, a probability density function (PDF), density function, or density of an absolutely continuous random variable, is a function whose value at any given sample (or point) in the sample space (the set of possible values taken by the random variable) can be interpreted as providing a relative likelihood that the value of the ...
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.
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.
Mathematical statistics is the application of probability theory and other mathematical concepts to statistics, as opposed to techniques for collecting statistical data. [1] Specific mathematical techniques that are commonly used in statistics include mathematical analysis , linear algebra , stochastic analysis , differential equations , and ...