Q 1 Explain the characteristic of statistics.
ANSWER 1
Various characteristics of statistics as summarized as under :
1. Statistics deals with an aggregate of facts. A single figure cannot be analyzed.
2. Statistics gets affected to a great extent by multiplicity of causes
The Statistics of the yield of a crop is the result of several factors, such as the fertility of soil, amount of rainfall, the quality of seed used, the quality and quantity of fertilizer used.
3. Statistics are numerically expressed
Only numerical facts can be statistically analyzed. The qualitative data such as, the categorical data cannot be called as statistics, for example, the eye color of a person or the brand name of an automobile.
4. Statistics are enumerated or estimated with required degree of accuracy
The facts have to be collected from the field or estimated (computed) with the required degree of accuracy.
5. Statistics are collected in a systematic manner
The facts should be collected according to planned and scientific methods otherwise, they are likely to be wrong and misleading.
6. Statistics are collected for a pre-determined purpose
There must be a definite purpose for collecting facts. Otherwise, indiscriminate data collection might take place which would lead to wrong diagnosis.
7. Statistics are placed in relation to each other
The facts must be placed in such a way that a comparative and analytical study becomes possible.
|b. What are the components of Statistics? Give a brief description of each of the components. |
The four components of Statistics are collection, presentation, analysis and interpretation of data.
1. Collection of data
Careful planning is required while collecting data. Two methods used for collecting data are census method and sampling method.
2. Presentation of data
The collected data is