What is statistics, and what is its importance in modern society?

To obtain data on the state of society, a whole complex of sciences is used. One of them is statistics. What is it?

What is statistics?

This is the name of the branch of knowledge, which sets out general questions on the collection, measurement and analysis of mass (quantitative or qualitative) data. Also, statistics are concerned with the study of the quantitative aspect of public mass phenomena from the point of view of their numerical form. This word comes from the Latin status, which means "state of affairs." Originally, this science was called "State Studies".

For the first time the term "statistics" was used in 1746, and this moment marked the beginning of such a discipline and science. True, it can not be said that this was directly used, because accounting, measurement and analysis of data were carried out much earlier. An important parameter is the mode. Something similar can be remembered from geometry, but it's not quite that. But what is fashion in statistics? This is the name of the value from the linear series, which occurs most often.

Examples

Let's talk about something closer to reality. What is the website page statistics? This parameter can be the number of users who visited the resource and had the opportunity to get acquainted with its contents. However, from this point of view it will be difficult to answer the question, what is VKontakte statistics.

Information is not collected for each page. But counting the number of users that go for a day, a month - in general, constantly. This is the answer to the question, what is statistics in practice in information technology.

Types of grouping

Within the framework of a scientific discipline, one group is divided into separate groups, which are homogeneous in a certain respect. To calculate the number of intervals, when there are no clear limits, Sturges' formula is often used:

CHI = 1 + 3,322 * lg CH, where

• Is the number of integrals;
• Lg is the logarithm;
• NN is the number of observations.

Depending on the goals, there are three types of groupings:

• Analytical. Used to identify links between groupings.
• Typological. The investigated population divides into homogeneous groups.
• Structural. The division into homogeneous associations is carried out on the basis of a clear indication.

A typical group should strive to be as different from others as possible and to be the most similar within itself. They are primary and secondary. The first are formed during statistical observation. Secondary groupings are made based on the obtained data.

Classification of statistical methods

They have found their application almost everywhere. Therefore, it is logical to assume that there is no universal tool. Depending on the specificity and immersion in specific problems, such statistical methods of data analysis stand out:

• Development and research of general-purpose instruments that do not take into account the particular application.
• Creation and use of statistical models of some real phenomenon or process in a certain field of activity.
• Development and use of methods and tools to analyze specific data for solving applied problems.

Applied Statistics

This section of science deals with the processing of data of an arbitrary nature. As a mathematical basis of applied statistics and its methods of analysis, mathematical statistics and probability theory are used. Everything begins with a description of the type of data obtained, as well as the mechanism of their origin. For this, probabilistic and deterministic methods are used. The latter can be used only in cases when the researcher has enough data (for example, reports of state statistical agencies that are based on information provided by enterprises). But to transfer the result obtained to a larger scale and to assess the prospects can be done exclusively using probabilistic statistical modeling.

In the simplest situation, the available data act as the value of a certain attribute that is inherent in the object under study. The parameters here are quantitative or indicative (depending on the category to which they relate). The second option usually indicates a qualitative characteristic. And what if we take a few? Or add quantitative? Then we can say that the vector of the object is obtained. It is considered as a new kind of data. In large-scale studies, samples are composed of several sets of vectors. It is important to clarify and re-check the information received. To do this, re-sampling is used.

Conclusion

As you can see, the statistics allows you to structure the significant data sets that are necessary to provide information about the state of affairs in certain areas. So, it plays an important role for investors, as it gives an opportunity to observe the dynamics of growth of the economies of states. The statistics are interesting for citizens and authorities, telling them about the processes in the country: demographic growth or crisis, increasing welfare or its fall and so on.