What is statistics?

Welcome! In this post we will touch upon the following question, what is statistics?  

"There are lies, damned lies, and statistics" - Mark Twain.

Per google

sta·tis·tics /stəˈtistiks/  noun: statistics

The practice or science of collecting and analyzing numerical data in large quantities, especially for the purpose of inferring proportions in a whole from those in a representative sample.

synonyms:

data, facts and figures, numbers, information, details; informalstats "recent statistics show an increase in allergic reactions"

Statistics is the science of sorting, analyzing, and evaluating information that we encounter in school, at work, and throughout everyday interactions. It requires using skills and understanding to organize, summarize, and analyze data

Per Miriam Webster

1 :  a branch of mathematics dealing with the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of masses of numerical data 

2 :  a collection of quantitative data

Statistics is the science of gathering, organizing, and making sense of data in a meaningful way in order to understand the world around us and make informed decisions based on that data. It may be applied to both business and personal activities.

All in all

Statistics is a mathematical method or science used to organize, evaluate and compile data or facts. More specifically statistics refers to the process of collecting, organizing, presenting, analyzing, and interpreting data to help us in making effective decisions. It can be used in any field of work or study and often we use statistics regardless of if we know it or not. Consider it a method of making potentially complicated and hard to understand data easier to understand. 

Statistics are provided to us in many forms and mediums, for example it can be used  in politics to see which candidate is polling better in a particular state, schools and graduation rates, hospitals and infection rates, businesses and seeing what products are more profitable, social media and trends, and more.

Statistics enables us to get as much out of numerical information as possible.  For example it allows researchers to evaluate conclusions derived from sample data. Statistics aids in the process of the scientific method by collecting data, interpreting and analyzing it. It also allows for measures that assess the reliability of conclusion based on sample data even when faced with issues related to variability and uncertainty.  Note that there are different levels of measurements including nominal-level, ordinal-level, interval-level, and ratio-level (see this previous post for reference).

Statistics and its respective calculations look at the data in a new way and make better use of it so that it can assist us in not only business and work-life, but also in our personal decision-making.  Statistics is the science of collecting, organizing, presenting, analyzing, and interpreting data to allow effective decisions making in business, economics, and everyday life. 

Side note

Statistics can also refer to numerical information such as percentages, outcomes, and ratios.