ETC1000

BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC

STATISTICS
2. Data Sources

DATA SOURCES
1. Data comes from many sources: company databases,
government reporting, market research, etc.

Volume of data is growing enormously because of

Electronic Data Capture - doubling every two years
Electronic capture of data means no major concerns
with quality of data / measurement error
The challenges: linking data about one subject /
person from different sources. This is why loyalty
programs / membership / logins are so valuable.

DATA SOURCES
2. Surveys

Extracting targeted information

Allows us to relate information together Discovery
eg characteristics and preferences
We learn directly from the people we are most
interested in.
eg poor farmers in a developing country describe
their situation and difficulties

DATA SOURCES - SURVEYS

Challenges with surveys
1. Questions that extract the right information

do not have ambiguous meaning

impartial

wording that does not invite dishonesty

DATA SOURCES SURVEYS,

CHALLENGES
2. Samples that are representative

Surveys invariably only include a sample from

the wider population
The sample needs to be representative
A non-representative sample is Biased, and
gives biased statistical results.

SURVEYS, CHALLENGES, BIAS

Sources of bias?
1. Selection Bias: the sample is chosen in a way
that makes it not representative.
Solution? Taking a random sample
2. Non-Response Bias: not all who are selected
for a sample will respond. If there is a pattern to
the non-responses, this creates a bias in the
sample.

WHAT DOES DATA LOOK LIKE?

Example: How often do you go to the doctor?

NB Units matter!