Keywords ;Why the need of statistics,The importance of statistics
It is obvious that society can’t be run effectively on the
basis of hunches or trial and error, and that in business and economics much depends
on the correct analysis of numerical information. Decisions based on data will provide
better results than those based on intuition or gut feelings. What applies to
this wider world applies to undertaking research into the wider world. And
learning to use statistics in your studies will have a wider benefit than
helping you towards a qualification. Once you have mastered the language and
some of the techniques in order to make sense of your investigation, you will
have supplied yourself with a knowledge and understanding that will enable you
to cope with the information you will encounter in your everyday life.
Statistical thinking permeates all social interaction. For
example, take these statements:
Ø
‘The earlier you start thinking
about the topic of your research project, the more likely it is that you will
produce good work.
Ø
You will get more reliable
information about that from a refereed academic journal than a newspaper.’
Ø
‘On average, my journey to work
takes 1 hour and 40 minutes.’
Ø
‘More people are wealthier now than
ten years ago.’
Or these questions:
Ø
‘Which university should I go to?’
Ø
‘Should I buy a new car or a
second-hand one?’
Ø
‘Should the company buy this
building or just rent it?’
Ø
‘Should we invest now or wait till
the new financial year?’
Ø
‘When should we launch our new
product?’
All of these require decisions to be made, all have costs
and benefits (either financial or emotional), and all are based upon different
amounts
of data, and all involve or necessitate some kind of
statistical calculation. This is where an understanding of statistics and knowledge
of statistical techniques will come in handy.
Why you need to use statistics
Much of everyday life depends on making forecasts, and
business
can’t progress without being able to audit change or plan action.
can’t progress without being able to audit change or plan action.
