Chapter 1
Evaluating Data in the Real World
IN THIS CHAPTER
Introducing statistical concepts
Generalizing from samples to populations
Getting into probability
Making decisions
Understanding important Excel fundamentals
The field of statistics is all about decision-making — decision-making based on groups of numbers. Statisticians constantly ask questions: What do the numbers tell us? What are the trends? What predictions can we make? What conclusions can we draw?
To answer these questions, statisticians have developed an impressive array of analytical tools. These tools help us make sense of the mountains of data that are out there waiting for us to delve into, and to understand the numbers we generate in the course of our own work.
The Statistical (and Related) Notions You Just Have to Know
Because intensive calculation is often part and parcel of the statistician’s tool set, many people have the misconception that statistics is about number crunching. Number crunching is just ...
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