Subject: Statistics I
Unit 1: Statistical Foundations
Week 1 syllabus map
- L1.1: Basic Definitions
- AQ1.1: Activity Questions 1
- L1.2: Introduction and Types of Data - Understanding Data
- AQ1.2: Activity Questions 2
- L1.3: Introduction and Types of Data - Classification of Data
- AQ1.3: Activity Questions 3
- L1.4: Introduction and Types of Data - Scales of Measurement
How to use this week
- Read one lecture page at a time and solve the paired activity page immediately.
- Maintain a small trap sheet for confusing pairs:
populationvssampleparametervsstatisticcategoricalvsnumericalordinalvsintervalcross-sectionalvstime-series
- When a question gives an example, classify it step by step:
- What are the cases?
- What is the variable?
- Is it categorical or numerical?
- If numerical, is it discrete or continuous?
- If asked, what is the scale of measurement?
Week 1 exam traps
- A descriptive study can still use a sample.
- Codes like
1,2,3are not automatically numerical if they represent labels. 0as a number is not the same as “no data”.- Ordered categories do not automatically have equal gaps.
- Celsius and Fahrenheit are interval scales, not ratio scales.
- Ratio scale requires a meaningful true zero.
Final revision checklist
- define statistics, data, population, sample, variable, case
- distinguish descriptive from inferential statistics
- classify variables correctly from examples
- identify discrete vs continuous values
- identify nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales
- explain why units and consistent recording matter