MATH 160 Hao-Nhien Vu 1-2 Statistical and Critical Thinking

The goal of this class is to become smarter members of society who think critically
when people throw numbers at you.
I.

STATISTICS DEFINED

Statistics is the science of

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II.

THE PROCESS OF STATISTICS

Example 1: We want to know what percent of students at our college plan to

transfer to a UC campus. We could ask all students, but chances are we cant. So
we make do with asking ____ students. And we find out that ___ of them plan to
transfer to a UC campus.
DEFINITIONS
Population:
Individual:
Sample:
Variable:
Statistic:
Parameter:
So, in this case, the population is:
The individuals are:
The sample is:
The variable is:
The statistic is:
The parameter is:

PREPARE
Goal of Study

Source of Data

Sampling Method

ANALYZE
Graph the Data

Explore the Data

Apply Statistical Method

CONCLUDE
Statistical Significance

III.

VOLUNTARY RESPONSE SAMPLE

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IV.

POTENTIAL PITFALLS

Small Samples

Loaded questions

Example 2: Research done in 1985. The same criteria were used to select two
samples. Each was asked a different question.

"Is too little money being spent on welfare?" 19% said yes.
"Is too little money being spent on assistance to the poor?" 63% said yes.

Misleading conclusion
Correlation does not imply causation

xkcd.com

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