Basics of Statistics

This document provides an overview of statistics as a field of study. It defines statistics as the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of numerical data. It notes that the word originates from Italian and Latin terms meaning "political state." Some key points covered include: - Descriptive and inferential statistics are two main branches - Statistics has a wide scope of applications across business, economics, mathematics and the natural/social sciences - The steps of a statistical inquiry involve planning, data collection, editing, tabulation, analysis and interpretation - Common methods of presenting frequency distributions include histograms, frequency polygons, frequency curves and ogives