Chapter 1 BIA 2610

Variables

A characteristic of interest for the elements.

data mining

Definition:The process of using procedures from statistics and computer science to extract useful information from extremely large databases.

ratio scale

Definition:The scale of measurement for a variable if the data demonstrate all the properties of interval data and the ratio of two values is meaningful. Ratio data are always numeric.

interval scale

Definition:The scale of measurement for a variable if the data demonstrate the properties of ordinal data and the interval between values is expressed in terms of a fixed unit of measure. Interval data are always numeric.

ordinal scale

Definition:The scale of measurement for a variable if the data exhibit the properties of nominal data and the order or rank of the data is meaningful. Ordinal data may be nonnumeric or numeric.

nominal scale

Definition:The scale of measurement for a variable when the data are labels or names used to identify an attribute of an element. Nominal data may be nonnumeric or numeric.

Analytics

Definition:The scientific process of transforming data into insight for making better decisions.

population

Definition:The set of all elements of interest in a particular study.

observation

Definition:The set of measurements obtained for a particular element.

Importance of quality control

Definition:Today's emphasis on quality makes quality control an important application of statistics in production. A variety of statistical quality control charts are used to monitor the output of a production process.

Statistical inference _____. a. refers to the process of drawing inferences about the sample based on the characteristics of the population b. is the same as a census c. is the process of drawing inferences about the population based on the information taken from the sample d. is the same as descriptive statistics

c. is the process of drawing inferences about the population based on the information taken from the sample

_____ analytics encompasses the set of analytical techniques that describe what has happened in the past. a. Descriptive b. Predictive c. Data d. Prescriptive

a. Descriptive

The summaries of data, which may be tabular, graphical, or numerical, are referred to as _____. a. descriptive statistics b. inferential statistics c. report generation d. statistical inference

a. descriptive statistics

The process of analyzing sample data to draw conclusions about the characteristics of a population is called _____. a. statistical inference b. descriptive statistics c. data analysis d. data summarization

a. statistical inference

What organization developed the report, "Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice"? a. Ethics Committee for Statistical Practices b. American Statistical Association c. International Statistical Organization d. Federal Bureau for Ethical Practices in Statistics

b. American Statistical Association

The owner of a factory regularly requests a graphical summary of all employees' salaries. The graphical summary of salaries is an example of _____. a. a sample b. descriptive statistics c. an experiment d. statistical inference

b. descriptive statistics

In a sample of 3,200 registered voters, 1,440, or 45%, approve of the way the president is doing his job.Refer to Exhibit 1-2. A political pollster states, "Forty five percent of all voters approve of the president." This statement is an example of _____. a. descriptive statistics b. statistical inference c. a sample d. a population

b. statistical inference

The collection of all elements of interest in a study is _____. a. the sampling b. the population c. descriptive statistics d. statistical inference

b. the population

Which of the following is NOT a categorical variable? a. your cell phone area code b. your age on your last birthday c. your accounting class start time d. your high school graduation year

b. your age on your last birthday

Data collected at the same, or approximately the same, point in time are _____ data. a. one-dimensional b. time series c. cross-sectional d. static

c. cross-sectional

The term data warehousing is used to refer to the process of doing all of the following, except _____ the data. a. storing b. capturing c. mining d. maintaining

c. mining

In a sample of 800 students in a university, 160, or 20%, are Business majors. Based on the above information, the school's paper reported, "20% of all students at the university are Business majors." This report is an example of _____. a. a sample b. descriptive statistics c. statistical inference d. a population

c. statistical inference

data set

All the data collected in a particular study.

big data

Definition:A set of data that cannot be managed, processed, or analyzed with commonly available software in a reasonable amount of time. Big data are characterized by great volume (a large amount of data), high velocity (fast collection and processing), or wide variety (could include nontraditional data such as video, audio, and text).

sample survey

Definition:A survey to collect data on a sample.

census

Definition:A survey to collect data on the entire population.

categorical variable

Definition:A variable with categorical data.

quantitative variable

Definition:A variable with quantitative data.

Descriptive analytics

Definition:Analytical techniques that describe what has happened in the past.

Predictive analytics

Definition:Analytical techniques that use models constructed from past data to predict the future or assess the impact of one variable on another.

prescriptive analytics

Definition:Analytical techniques that yield a course of action.

Cross-sectional data

Definition:Data collected at the same or approximately the same point in time.

Time series data

Definition:Data collected over several time periods.

categorical data

Definition:Labels or names used to identify an attribute of each element. Categorical data use either the nominal or ordinal scale of measurement and may be nonnumeric or numeric.

descriptive statistics

Definition:Tabular, graphical, and numerical summaries of data.

statistical inference

Definition:The process of using data obtained from a sample to make estimates or test hypotheses about the characteristics of a population.

statistics

The art and science of collecting, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting data.

elements

The entities on which data are collected.

data

The facts and figures collected, analyzed, and summarized for presentation and interpretation.

A Scanner Data User Survey of 50 companies found that the average amount spent on scanner data per category of consumer goods was $387,325 (Mercer Management Consulting, Inc., April 24, 1997). The $387,325 is an example of _____. a. quantitative data b. categorical data c. a descriptive statistic d. Both quantitative data and a descriptive statistic are correct.

d. Both quantitative data and a descriptive statistic are correct.

The Microsoft Office package used to perform statistical analysis is _____. a. SAS b. Word c. SPSS d. Excel

d. Excel

A portion of the population selected to represent the population is called _____. a. a census b. statistical inference c. descriptive statistics d. a sample

d. a sample

Six hundred residents of a city are polled to obtain information on voting intentions in an upcoming city election. The 600 residents in this study is an example of a(n) _____. a. census b. observation c. population d. sample

d. sample

Data collected over several time periods are _____ data. a. time-controlled b. cross-sectional c. time dependent d. time series

d. time series

Which of the following variables uses the ratio scale of measurement? a. social security number b. SAT scores c. name of stock exchange d. time

time