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Statistics As A Mathematical Science |
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Statistics is the collection, organization and interpretation of data. It also covers the planning for data collection, e. G. Surveys and experiments. It is also closely associated with Probability theory which is a branch of mathematics that is concerned with the analysis of random phenomena.
Applied statistics is divided into two. The first is descriptive statistics. It deals with those statistical methods that summarize, or describe a collection of data. The second one is inferential. It deals with modeling data in order to account for any uncertainty and randomness that might be present in an observation. This is normally used when statisticians want to make inferences about the process or population being studied. Inference is important because it gives a prediction for where a theory leads to logically.
This mathematical science as we know today has evolved for over four centuries. Its mathematical foundations started in the 17th century when the probability theory was developed. Its earliest applications were by state governments that needed to use economic and demographic data to base policy. In the 19th century, this had expanded to accommodate any kind of statistics. It is currently employed in in all sectors of life including business, government, social and natural sciences.
Statisticians improve data quality with survey sampling and design experiments. It also has the advantage of giving people tools like data models and statistical models that can assist with prediction and forecasting.
When applying this mathematical science to any problem, it is imperative that the process begins with the population. A population can be anything that is the object of the study, for example people living in a given community, country or sector. It can be atoms in crystal, or observations of something at various stages i. E. Time series etc. When a population is too big to be studied, statisticians use a subset of it, statisticians call this a sample.
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