Hi List members,
I'd like to get your opinion regarding this "debate" that's going on among some members of our department, including me. This is about the meaning of statistics in the plural and singular senses. I know that statistics (singular) is a science that deals with the collection, organization, etc.... of data. Statistics (plural) are the data themselves and/or computations derived from that set of data and also sample characteristics, like the sample mean, median, etc. In short, statistics (plural) refer to numerical/quantitative data and numerica derivations from these data. The bone of the contention I think lies in the data itself. What if the data is qualitative (not quantitative)? Are these considered statistics? The only statistic I can get from these is the total number of elements in the data set.
Pls. email me for your replies, comments, reactions, corrections, etc. Thank you very much.
Sincerely
H. V. V. Valle
Philippines
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