Page 59 - Statistics for Dummies

Chapter 4
Tools of the Trade
In This Chapter
▶ Seeing statistics as a process, not just as numbers
▶ Getting familiar with some basic statistical jargon
n today’s world, the buzzword is data, as in, “Do you have any data to sup-
Iport your claim?” “What data do you have on this?” “The data supported
the original hypothesis that . . . ,” “Statistical data show that . . . ,” and “The
data bear this out . . . .” But the field of statistics is not just about data.
Statistics is the entire process involved in gathering evidence to answer ques-
tions about the world, in cases where that evidence happens to be data.
In this chapter, you see firsthand how statistics works as a process and
where the numbers play their part. You’re also introduced to the most com-
monly used forms of statistical jargon, and you find out how these definitions
and concepts all fit together as part of that process. So the next time you
hear someone say, “This survey had a margin of error of plus or minus
3 percentage points,” you’ll have a basic idea of what that means.

Statistics: More than Just Numbers

Statisticians don’t just “do statistics.” Although the rest of the world views
them as number crunchers, they think of themselves as the keepers of the
scientific method. Of course, statisticians work with experts in other fields to
satisfy their need for data, because man cannot live by statistics alone, but
crunching someone’s data is only a small part of a statistician’s job. (In fact,
if that’s all we did all day, we’d quit our day jobs and moonlight as casino
consultants.) In reality, statistics is involved in every aspect of the scientific
method — formulating good questions, setting up studies, collecting good
data, analyzing the data properly, and making appropriate conclusions. But
aside from analyzing the data properly, what do any of these aspects have to
do with statistics? In this chapter you find out.

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