Statistics is the collective term to describe numbers used to indicate the measu
ID: 3201594 • Letter: S
Question
Statistics is the collective term to describe numbers used to indicate the measurements of some- thing. The measurements of a particular sample are typically drawn from a larger body called a population or universe. As we have seen, only the numerical values that apply to the sample are known as "statistics." whereas the values of the population are known as "parameters." In learning about applying statistics to public administration situations, this difference is seldom a problem because managers rarely deal with entire populations. In statistics, the term measurement refers to numbers read from a scale or other measuring device, such as a ruler or gauge, or a multi-point answer to a question. With such measurement or recording devices, the numbers are arranged according to some meaningful set or range of values that has been determined to be appropriate by the person or persons reading the scale. Examples of scales include inches and feet, a set of millimeters and centimeters, foot-pounds of pressure, engine horsepower, computer chip memory capacity, miles per hour, and many others. Public administration has followed the lead of the social sciences and expanded the concept of a scale to include such phenomena as responses to questions on a consumer attitude or lifestyle questionnaire. Scales have also been established to measure levels or increments of awareness, agreement, desirability, rank order, preference, and many other similar concepts. In all applications, numbers have also been assigned to various "things" such as events, objects, characteristics, responses, and qualities.Explanation / Answer
Questions
1) Describe statistics and how it is measured?
2) What is a sample and what is it used for?
3) what is a scale and how is it used for measurement in statistics? How can scale be used in quantification of questions related to public administration?