The post is about “The Word Statistics Meaning and Use”.
The word statistics was first used by German scholar Gottfried Achenwall in the middle of the 18th century as the science of statecraft concerning the collection and use of data by the state.
The word statistics comes from the Latin word “Status” or Italian word “Statistia” or German word “Statistik” or the French word “Statistique”; meaning a political state, and originally meant information useful to the state, such as information about sizes of the population (human, animal, products, etc.) and armed forces.
According to pioneer statistician Yule, the word statistics occurred at the earliest in the book “The Element of universal erudition” by Baron (1770). In 1787 a wider definition was used by E.A.W. Zimmermann in “A Political Survey of the Present State of Europe”. It appeared in the Encyclopedia of Britannica in 1797 and was used by Sir John Sinclair in Britain in a series of volumes published between 1791 and 1799 giving a statistical account of Scotland. In the 19th century, the word statistics acquired a wider meaning covering numerical data of almost any subject and also interpretation of data through appropriate analysis.
The Word Statistics Now a Day
Now statistics are being used with different meanings.
- Statistics refers to “numerical facts that are arranged systematically in the form of tables or charts etc. In this sense, it is always used as a plural i.e. a set of numerical information. For instance statistics on prices, road accidents, crimes, births, educational institutions, etc.
- The word statistics is defined as a discipline that includes procedures and techniques used to collect, process, and analyze numerical data to make inferences and to reach an appropriate decision in a situation of uncertainty (uncertainty refers to incompleteness, it does not imply ignorance). In this sense word statistic is used in the singular sense. It denotes the science of basing the decision on numerical data.
- The word statistics refers to numerical quantities calculated from sample observations; a single quantity calculated from sample observations is called statistics such as the mean. Here word statistics is plural.
“We compute statistics from statistics by statistics”
The first place of statistics is plural of statistics, in second place is plural sense data, and in third place is singular sense methods.
In another way, the word Statistics has two meanings:
- The science of data:
In this sense, statistics deals with collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting numerical data. Therefore, statistics helps us to understand the world around us by making sense of large amounts of information. Statisticians use a variety of techniques to summarize data, identify patterns, and draw wise conclusions. - Pieces of data:
Statistics also refers to the actual numerical data itself, for example, averages, percentages, or other findings from a study. The real-life examples of statistics are: (i) unemployment statistics or (ii) crime statistics.
Most Common Uses of Statistics
The following are the most common uses of Statistics in various fields of life.
Business and Economics
- Market Research: Understanding consumer behaviour, satisfaction, preferences, and trends.
- Operations Management: Optimizing processes, inventory control, and quality control.
- Financial Analysis: Evaluating investments, risk management, and financial performance.
Healthcare
- Clinical Trials: Compare and Evaluate the effectiveness and safety of new treatments.
- Epidemiology: Studying the occurrence and distribution of diseases.
- Public Health: Identifying health risks and developing prevention strategies.
Social Sciences
- Sociology: Studying social phenomena, such as inequality, crime, and education.
- Psychology: Understanding human behaviour, personality, and cognition.
- Political Science: Analyzing political behaviour, public opinion, and election outcomes.
Government
- Policy Development: Making informed decisions based on data and evidence.
- Economic Planning: Forecasting economic growth and trends.
- Public Administration: Improving efficiency and effectiveness of government services.
Education
- Educational Research: Evaluating teaching methods, curriculum, and student outcomes.
- Testing and Assessment: Developing and analyzing standardized tests.
- Student Data Analysis: Identifying trends and addressing educational disparities.
Science and Technology
- Research: Designing experiments, collecting data, and analyzing results.
- Data Analysis: Discovering patterns, relationships, and insights in large datasets.
- Machine Learning: Developing algorithms that can learn from data and make predictions.
Sports
- Player Performance Analysis: Evaluating athlete performance and identifying areas for improvement.
- Team Strategy: Developing game plans and making tactical decisions.
- Sports Betting: Analyzing data to predict game outcomes.
For learning about the Basics of Statistics Follow the link Basic Statistics
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