Introduction to statistics

Faisal Nooh
Assistant professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of Hargeisa
WHAT IS STATISTICS?
Data
• Collection
• Summarization
Science • Presentation
• Interpretation

Use
• Testing
• Estimating Associ
• Predicting ations

Variation
Account
• Random errors
• Systematic errors
BRANCHES
1 Descriptive statistics

2 Inferential statistics
ROLES IN RESEARCH
1 Choice of appropriate design

2 Conduct of a research

3
Analysis of results
BASIC CONCEPTS
1 Scales of measurement
2 Populations Vs samples
3 Variables
4 Statistic Vs parameter

5
Statistical distributions
SCALES OF MEASUREMENT
1 Nominal 3 Interval
e.g. ethnicity, nationality, gender e.g. temperature
in Celsius

2 Ordinal 4 Ratio
e.g. disease severity (mild, moderate, e.g. weight, height
severe)
POPULATIONS AND SAMPLES
1 Population
POPULATION
- Entire collection of objects
- Subset of a collection without the intent
to generalize to the whole SAMPLE
2 Sample
- Subset of a whole with the intention
to generalize the results to the whole
VARIABLES
1 Types of variables
- Numerical
- Categorical 2 Exposure Vs Outcome
- Rates Aka
- Derived - Independent Vs dependent
- Explanatory Vs response
- X-variable Vs Y-variable
 Data
• Collection
• Summarization
Science
• Presentation
• Interpretation

UNDERSTANDING DATA
1 4 Analysis
Components of data
- Observations - Descriptive
- Variables - Predictive
- Prescriptive
2 Types of data 3 Exploration
- Numerical - Recency
- Continuous - Frequency 5 Interpretation
- Discrete - Intensity
- Categorical - Connection - Conclusions
- Nominal - Integrity - decision-making
- Ordinal
 Data
• Collection
• Summarization
Science
• Presentation
• Interpretation

SUMMARIZING DATA
1 Measures of central tendency
- Mean
- Median
- mode 2 Measures of spread
- Quantiles
- Percentiles
- Standard deviation
- Interquartile range
- Range
- Variance
- Coefficient of variation
 Data
• Collection
• Summarization
Science
• Presentation
• Interpretation

DATA PRESENTATION
2 Graphs
1 Tables
- Histograms
- Frequency
- Frequency polygon
- Frequency distributions
- Box and whisker plot
- cumulative frequency distributions
- Scatter plot
- Cross tabultions
- Stem-leaf plot
- Pie chart
- Bar chart
 Data
• Collection
• Summarization
Science
• Presentation
• Interpretation

WHICH PLOT TO USE WHEN

• Categorical (C) versus categorical (C):
barcharts
• Quantitative (Q) versus quantitative
(Q): scatterplots
• Quantitative (Q) versus categorical (C):
boxplots.
• Categorical (C) versus quantitative (Q):
boxplots.
 Data
• Collection
• Summarization
Science
• Presentation
• Interpretation

CATEGORICAL DATA
Example: The housing variable
with three categories (for free,
own and rent).
 Data
• Collection
• Summarization
Science
• Presentation
• Interpretation

NUMERICAL DATA
Example: Comparing two
groups of children: one
reporting respiratory
symptoms and the other not
reporting
THANKS
 Questions

1. What is the difference between data and

information?
- Data = facts and figures
- Information = processed data which is
meaningful