Statistics
Statistics (the feminine form of the German Statistik, and this derivative of the Italian statista "statesman") is a formal science and a tool that studies uses and analyzes from a representative sample of data, seeks to explain the correlations and dependencies of a physical or natural phenomenon, occurring randomly or conditionally
It is cross-cutting to a wide variety of disciplines, from physics to social sciences, from health sciences to quality control
Used for decision-making in business areas or government institutions
Statistics are divided into two main areas:
- Descriptive statistics
- Inferential statistics
There is also a discipline called mathematical statistics, which refers to the theoretical basis of matter
The word "statistics" also refers to the result of applying a statistical algorithm to a set of data, such as economic statistics, criminal statistics, among others
Today, statistics is a science that is responsible for studying a particular population through the collection, collection and interpretation of data. Similarly, it is considered a special technique suitable for the quantitative study of mass or collective phenomena
Descriptive statistics
It is dedicated to the description, visualization and summary of data originated from study phenomena. The data can be summarized numerically or graphically. Basic examples of statistical parameters are: mean and standard deviation. Some graphic examples are: histogram, population pyramid, pie chart, among others
Inferential statistics
It is dedicated to the generation of models, inferences and predictions associated with the phenomena in question taking into account the randomness of the observations. It is used to model patterns in the data and extract inferences about the population under study. These inferences can take the form of answers to yes/no questions (hypothesis test), estimates of numerical characteristics (estimation), forecasts of future observations, association descriptions (correlation) or modeling of relationships between variables (regression analysis). Other modeling techniques include variance analysis, time series, and data mining
Both branches (descriptive and inferential) comprise the applied statistic. Inferential statistics, on the other hand, are divided into parametric statistics and non-parametric statistics