S.5 Term 01; Descriptive Statistics (Math’s P.2)

Descriptive Statistics

This course can as well be taken by students taking different courses at diploma or degree level (institutions and university students) where this knowledge is required.

Descriptive statistics are used to describe the basic features of the data in a study. They provide simple summaries of the sample and the measures. Together with simple graphics analysis, they form the basis of virtually every quantitative analysis of data.

In a research study, we may have lots of measures. Or we may measure a large number of people on any measure. Descriptive statistics help us to simplify large amounts of data in a sensible way. For instance, consider a simple number used to summarize how well a batter is performing in baseball, the batting average. This single number is simply the number of hits divided by the number of times at bat (reported to three significant digits). A batter who is hitting .333 is getting a hit one time in every three at bats. One batting .250 is hitting one time in four. The single number describes a large number of discrete events. Or, consider the scourge of many students, the Grade Point Average (GPA). This single number describes the general performance of a student across a potentially wide range of course experiences.

Objectives:

By the end of this topic, every learner should be able to collect, organize and analyse data using different statistical methods.

To be specific every learner should be able to:

1. Define the term statistics as used in mathematics
2. Categorise raw data.
3. Differentiate between ungrouped and grouped data.
4. Construct frequency distribution tables
5. Draw histograms with equal and unequal class width.
6. Draw a frequency polygons
7. Superimpose a frequency polygon on histograms
8. Draw a cumulative frequency curve/ orgive
9. Calculate mean, mode, and median of grouped and ungrouped data.
10. Estimate the mode from the histogram
11. Estimate the median from the Ogive.
12. Determine the:
    • range
    • quartile
    • interquartile range
    • percentile
    • decile
13. use the Ogive curve to estimate the quartiles, percentiles, and deciles.
14. calculate the variance and standard deviation.