Statistical Techniques for

Analyzing Quantitative Data

Maryam Ramezani
Values in Computer Technology
CSC 426
Outline
Statistics in Research
Exploring and Organizing a Data Set
Nature of the Data , Nominal , Ordinal, Interval, Ratio

Normal and Non-Normal Distributions
Descriptive Statistics
Inferential Statistics
Statistical Software Packages
Role of Statistics in Research
With Statistics , we can summarize large bodies
of data, make predictions about future trends
,and determine when different experimental
treatments have led to significantly different
outcomes.

Statistics are among the most powerful tools in
the research's toolbox.
How statistics come to research?
In quantitative research we use numbers to
represent physical or nonphysical
phenomena

We use statistics to summarize and interpret
numbers
Exploring and Organizing a Data Set
Look at your data and find the ways of organizing
them

example: Scores of test for 11 children:




What do you see?

Ruth 96, Robert 60, chuck 68, Margaret 88
Tom 56, Mary 92,Ralph 64, Bill 72,Alice 80
Adam 76,Kathy 84

Exploring and Organizing a Data Set
Student Score
Ruth 96
Robert 60
Chuck 68
Margaret 88
Tom 56
Mary 92
Ralph 64
Bill 72
Alice 80
Adam 76
Kathy 84
Student Score
Adam 76
Alice 80
Bill 72
Chuck 68
Kathy 84
Margaret 88
Mary 92
Ralph 64
Robert 60
Ruth 96
Tom 56
Student Score
Alice 80
Kathy 84
Margaret 88
Mary 92
Ruth 96
Alphabetical
Order
Adam 76
Bill 72
Chuck 68
Ralph 64
Robert 60
Tom 56
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0 5 10 15
Series1
Using Computer Spreadsheets to Organize
and Analyze Data

Sorting
Graphing
Formulas
What Ifs
Save, Store, recall, update information
Functions of Statistics
Descriptive Statistics:
describes what the data look like

Inferential Statistics :
inference about a large population by collecting
small samples.
Considering the Nature of the Data

Continuous or discrete

Nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio scale

Normal or non-normal distribution
Continuous versus Discrete Variables

Continuous Data :takes on any value within a finite or infinite interval.
You can count, order and measure continuous data.
Example :height, weight, temperature, the amount of sugar in an orange, the
time required to run a mile.

Discrete Data : values / observations belong are distinct and separate,
i.e. they can be counted (1,2,3,....).
Example: the number of kittens in a litter; the number of patients in a doctors
surgery; the number of flaws in one metre of cloth; gender (male, female); blood
group (O, A, B, AB).
Nominal Data

the numbers are simply labels. You can count but not order or
measure nominal data

Example: males could be coded as 0, females as 1; marital status of an
individual could be coded as Y if married, N if single.

classification data, e.g. m/f
no ordering, e.g. it makes no sense to state that M > F
arbitrary labels, e.g., m/f, 0/1, etc
Ordinal Data
ordered but differences between values are not
important
e.g., Like scales, rank on a scale of 1..5 your degree of satisfaction

rating of 2 rather than 1 might be much less than the difference in
enjoyment expressed by giving a rating of 4 rather than 3.

You can count and order, but not measure, ordinal
data.

Interval Data
ordered, constant scale, but no natural zero
differences make sense, but ratios do not

e.g.: 30-20=20-10, but 20/10 is not twice as hot!

e.g.: Dates: the time interval between the starts of years 1981 and 1982
is the same as that between 1983 and 1984, namely 365 days. The
zero point, year 1 AD, is arbitrary; time did not begin then
Ratio Data

Like interval data but has true zero

Ordered, Constant scale, natural zero

e.g., height, weight, age, length
Normal and Non-Normal Distributions
Normal Distribution
Non-Normal Distributions
Skewed to the Left
(Negatively Skewed)
Skewed to the Right
(Positevely Skewed)
Leptokurtic and Platykurtic
Distributions

Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive Statistics describes data

Points of Central Tendency

Amount of Variability

Relation of different variables to each
other


Measuring center: If the n observations are x
1
, x
2
,,
x
n
, arithmetic mean is
n
x x x
x
n
+ +
=

2 1
Points Of Central Tendency: Mean
Geometric Mean
e.x.: Biological growth, Population growth
Measure of Central Tendency
Mode
The Most frequently occurring
score is identified.
Data on nominal, ordinal,
interval and ratio
Median
The midpoint of the data Ordinal, interval, and ratio
Arithmetic
mean
All scores are added and the sum
is divided by the number of scores
Interval and ration
Geometric
mean
All scores are multiplied together,
and the nth root of their product is
computed.
Ratio scales
Measures of Variability
How great is the Spread?
Range=Highest Score-Lowest score

the quartiles: The pth percentile of a distribution is the value
such that p percent of the observations fall at or below it.
The 50th percentile = median, M
The 25th percentile = first quartile, Q1
The 75th percentile = third quartile, Q3
Interquartile: Quartile 3- Quartile 1



Example:
13 13 16 19 21 21 23 23 24 26 26 27 27 27 28 28 30 30
M=?, Q
1
=?, Q
3
=?
Measures of Variability
2
1
1
1

|
|
.
|

\
|

=
=

n
i
i
x x
n
s
Standard Devastation

standardized score
o

=
x
z
Measure of Relationship: Correlation
correlation indicates the strength and direction of a linear
relationship between two variables.








See page 266 for other examples or correlation statistics
Notes about Correlation
Substantial correlations between two
characteristics needs reasonable Validity and
Reliability in measuring

Correlation does not indicate causation
Examples of using Statistics in
Computer Science
Conceptual Representation of User Transactions or Sessions
A B C D E F
user0 15 5 0 0 0 185
user1 0 0 32 4 0 0
user2 12 0 0 56 236 0
user3 9 47 0 0 0 134
user4 0 0 23 15 0 0
user5 17 0 0 157 69 0
user6 24 89 0 0 0 354
user7 0 0 78 27 0 0
user8 7 0 45 20 127 0
user9 0 38 57 0 0 15
Session/user
data
Pageview/objects
Inferential Statistics
We use the samples as estimate of population parameter.
The quality of all statistical analysis depends on the quality of
the sample data



Sample
Population
Random Sampling: every unit in the
population has an equal chance to be
Chosen
A random sample should represent the
population well, so sample statistics
from a random sample should provide
reasonable estimates of population parameters

Some definitions
Parameter: describes a population
Statistic: describes a sample
Sample statistics Population parameter
Sample mean x
Sample proportion p P
Sample variance s
2

o
2

Sample number n

N
A parameter is a characteristic or quality of a population that in concept is
constant ,however, its value is variable.
example: radius is a parameter in a circle
Inferential Statistics
Estimate a population parameter from a
random sample

Test statistically hypotheses

Inferential Statistics: Estimate a
Population Parameter from Sample
All sample statistics have some error in estimating population parameters

Example: estimate mean height of 10 year old boys in Chicago, Sample:200 boys
How close the sample mean is to the population mean?
we dont know but we know:

The mean from an infinite number of samples form a normal distribution.

The population mean equals the average (mean) of all samples.

The Standard deviation of sample distribution ( standard error) is directly
related to the std of the characteristic in question for the overall
population.

Standard Error
Standard error tell us how much the particular mean vary from one
sample to another when all samples are the same size and drawn
randomly from the sample population.
Standard Error:

n is size of all samples and is the population std which we dont have!

We use the std of sample:
n
M
o
o =
1
=
n
s
M
o
Accuracy of the Estimator
As in many problems, there
is a trade off between
accuracy and dollars.

What we will get from
our money if we invest
dollars in obtaining a larger
size?
n = 100?
n = 200?
Point versus Interval Estimate
A point estimate is a single value--a point--taken from a sample and used to estimate the
corresponding parameter of a population
, s, s2 and r estimate , , 2, respectively

An interval estimate is a range of values--an interval within whose limits a
population parameter probably lies.
we say that we are 95% confident that the unknown population mean lies in the interval
X
(x -2o/(n
1/2
), x+2 o/(n
1/2
))
95% confidence interval for .
In only 5% of all samples,
the sample mean x is not in the above interval,
that is 5% of all samples give inaccurate results.
Testing Hypothesis
Confidence intervals are used when the goal of our analysis is to
estimate an unknown parameter in the population.

A second goal of a statistical analysis is to verify some claim about
the population on the basis of the data.

Research Hypothesis =/=Statistical hypothesis

A test of significance is a procedure to assess the truth about a
hypothesis using the observed data. The results of the test are
expressed in terms of a probability that measures how well the data
support the hypothesis.


Sample values: The sample average of nicotine = 1.51 mlg
The standard deviation = 1.016.

The estimated amount of nicotine is 1.51mlg, based on the sample values.
The standard error of the sample average is
S.E.=s.d./sqrt(n-1)=0.045

I s there an actual difference between the sample value (1.51mlg) and the
advertised value (1.4 mlg)? Or is it just due to sampling error?

To answer this question we need a Test of Significance:
Example

To determine whether the mean nicotine content of a brand of cigarettes is
greater than the advertised value of 1.4 milligrams, a health advocacy group
takes a sample of 500 cigarettes and measures the amount of nicotine in the
sample.
Stating an hypotheses

The null hypothesis H
0
expresses the idea that the observed difference is
due to chance. It is a statement of no effect or no difference, and is
expressed in terms of the population parameter.

Let denote the true average amount of nicotine. H
0
: =1.4mlg
The alternative hypothesis H
a
represents the idea that the difference is real. It
is expressed as the statement we hope or suspect is true instead of the null
hypothesis.
The alternative hypothesis states that the cigarettes contain a higher
amount of nicotine, that is: H
a
: > 14mlg
General comments on stating hypotheses
It is not easy to state the null and the alternative hypothesis!

The hypotheses are statements on the population values.

The alternative hypothesis Ha is often called researcher hypothesis,
because it is the hypothesis we are interested about.

A significance test is a test against the null hypothesis

Often we set Ha first and then Ho is defined as the opposite
statement!


Errors in Hypothesis testing
Type I Error : the null hypothesis is rejected when it is in fact true; that is,
H0 is wrongly rejected.

Type II Error :the null hypothesis H0, is not rejected when it is in fact false

Meta- Analysis
Meta-analysis refers to the analysis of analyses...the statistical
analysis of a large collection of analysis results from individual
studies for the purpose of integrating the findings. (Glass, 1976, p. 3)

Conduct a fairly extensive search for relevant studies

Identify appropriate studies to include in meta-analysis

Convert each studys results to a common statistical index
Using Statistical Software Packages
SPSS
SAS
Matlab Statistics toolbox
SYSTAT, Minitab, Stat View, Statistica
Interpreting the Data
Relating the findings to the original research problem and to the
specific research questions and hypothesis

Relating the findings to preexisting literature, concepts, theories and
research results.

Determining whether the findings have practical significance as well
as statistical significance

Identifying limitations of the study