ENGINEERING DATA ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION
STATISTICS
A BRANCH OF MATHEMATICS THAT EXAMINES AND
INVESTIGATES WAYS TO PROCESS AND ANALYZE THE DATA
GATHERED.
STATISTICS PROVIDE PROCEDURE IN DATA COLLECTION,
PRESENTATION, ORGANIZATION AND INTERPRETATION TO HAVE
MEANINGFUL IDEA THAT IS USEFUL TO DECISION MAKERS
 DIVISION OF STATISTICS
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
IS THE TOTALITY OF METHODS AND TREATMENTS EMPLOYED IN THE
COLLECTION, DESCRIPTION, AND ANALYSIS OF NUMERICAL DATA.
INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
IS THE LOGICAL PROCESS FROM SAMPLE ANALYSIS TO A GENERALIZATION
OR CONCLUSION ABOUT A POPULATION.
POPULATION CONCIST OF ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP ABOUT
WHICH WE WANT TO DRAW A CONCLUSION.
SAMPLE IS A PORTION, OR PART OF THE POPULATION OF INTEREST
SELECTED FOR ANALYSIS.
 PARAMETRIC AND STATISTIC
PARAMETER
IS A NUMERICAL INDEX DESCRIBING A CHARACTERISTIC OF A
POPULATION.

 STATISTIC
IS A NUMERICAL INDEX DESCRIBING CHARACTERISTIC OF A SAMPLE.
 SOURCES OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA
ARE DATA THAT CAME FROM AN ORIGINAL SOURCE, AND ARE
INTENDED TO ANSWER SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTION
SECONDARY DATA
ARE DATA THAT ARE TAKEN FROM PREVIOUSLY RECORDED
DATA, SUCH US INFORMATION IN RESEARCH CONDUCTED,
INDUSTRY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, BUSINESS PERIODICALS
AND GOVERNMENTS REPORTS.
 CONSTANT AND VARIABLE

CONSTANT
A CONSTANT IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF OBJECT, PEOPLE, OR
EVENTS THAT DOES NOT VARY.
VARIABLE
A VARIABLE IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF OBJECT, PEOPLE, OR
EVENTS THAT CAN TAKE OF DIFFERENT VALUES.
 TYPES OF DATA
QUALITATIVE VARIABLE
A VARIABLE THAT IS CONCEPTUALIZED AND ANALYZE AS
DISTINCT CATEGORIES WITH NO CONTINUUM IMPLIED.
QUANTITATIVE VARIABLE
A VARIABLE THAT IS CONCEPTUALIZED AND ANALYZE
ALONG A CONTINUUM IMPLIED
 CLASSIFICATION OF VARIABLES
 EXPERIMENTAL CLASSIFICATION
1. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES. ARE VARIABLE CONTROLLED BY
THE EXPERIMENTER/RESEARCHER, AND EXPECTED TO HAVE AN
EFFECT ON THE BEHAVIOR OF THE SUBJECT.
2. VARIABLES. IS SOME MEASURE OF THE BEHAVIOR OF SUBJECT
AND EXPECTED TO BE INFLUENCED BY THE INDEPENDENT
VARIABLE. ALSO CALLED OUTCOME VARIABLE.
MATHEMATICAL CLASSIFICATION.

1. CONTINOUS VARIABLE
IS A VARIABLE WHICH CAN ASSUME ANY OF AN
INFINITE NUMBER OF VALUES, AND CAN BE ASSOCIATED
WITH POINTS ON A CONTINOUS LINE INTERVAL.
2. DISCRETE VARIABLE IS A VARIABLE WHICH CONSIST
OF EITHER A FINITE NUMBER OF VALUES OR COUNTABLE
NUMBERS OF VALUES.
 LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
NOMINAL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
IS MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE AND EXHAUSTIVE MEANING IT IS
USED TO DIFFERENTIATE CLASSES OR CATEGORIES PR PURELY
CLASSIFICATION OR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES.
MUTUAL EXCLUSIVE
IS A PROPERTY OF A SET OF CATEGORIES SUCH THAT AN INDIVIDUAL OR
OBJECT IS INCLUDED IN ONLY ONE CATEGORY.
EXHAUSTIVE

IS A PROPERTY OF A SET OF CATEGORIES SUCH THAT EACH

INDIVIDUAL OR OBJECT MUST APPEAR IN A CATEGORY
ORDINAL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
IS USED IN RANKING.
INTERVAL LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
IS USED TO CLASSIFY ORDER IN DIFFERENTIATIVE BETWEEN
CLASSES OR CATEGORIES IN TERMS OF DEGREE OF DIFFERENCES.
RATIO LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT
DIFFERS FROM INTERVAL MEASUREMENT ONLY IN ONE
ASPECT; THAT HAS A TRUE ZERO POINT (COMPLETE ABSENCE OF
THE ATTITUDE BEING MEASURED)
LEVEL OF MEASUMENT MEASUREMENT

NOMINAL INDICATES A DISTINCTION

INDICATES A DISTINCTION
ORDINAL INDICATES THE DIRECTION OF THE
DISTINCTION
(E.G. LESS THAN OR MORE THAN)
INDICATE A DISTINCTION
INDICATES THE DIRECTION OF THE
INTERVAL DISTINCTION
INDICATES THE AMOUNT OF DISTINCTION
(IN EQUAL INTERVALS)
INDICATES A DISTINCTION
INDICATES THE DIRECTION OT THE
RATIO DISTINTION
INDICATES THE AMOUNT OF DISTINCTION
INDICATES AN ABSOLUTE ZERO
 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
SAMPLE
IS A GROUP IN A RESEARCH STUDY ON WHICH
INFORMATION IS OBTAINED. A POPULATION IS A GROUP TO
WHICH THE RESULT OF THE STUDY ARE INDENTED TO APPLY.
SAMPLING REFERS TO THEPROCESS OF THE SELECTING THESE
INDIVIDUALS.
A. RANDOM SAMPLING
IS PROCESS WHOSE MEMBERS HAD AN EQUAL CHANCE OF
BEING SELECTED FROM THE POPULATION

1. SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLINGIS PROCESS OF SELECTING N

SAMPLE SIZE IN THE POPULATON VIA RANDOMS NUMBERS OR
THROUGH LOTTERY

2. SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
IS A PROCESS OF SELECTING A KTH ELEMENT IN THE
POPULATION UNTIL THE DESIRED NUMBER OF SUBJECT OR
RESPONDENTS IS ATTAINED.
3. STRATIFIED SAMPLING
IS APROCESS OF SUBDIVIDING THE POPULATION INTO SUBGROUPS
OR STRATA AND DRAWING MEMBERS AT RANDOM FROM EACH SUBGROUP
OR STATUM.

4. CLUSTER SAMPLING
IS A PROCESS OF SELECTING CLUSTERS FROM A POPULATION WHICH IS VERY
LARGE OR WIDELY SPREAD OUT OVER WIDE GEOGRAPHIC AREA.
B. NON – RANDOM SAMPLING
IS A SAMPLING PROCEDURE WHERE SAMPLES SELECTED IN A DELEBERATE
MANNER WITH LITTLE OR NO ATTENTION TO RANDOMIZATION IT IS ALSO
CALLED NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING.

1. CONVENIENCE SAMPLING
IS A PROCESS OF SELECTING A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO (
CONVENIENTLY) ARE AVAILABLE FOR STUDIES.

2. PURPOSIVE SAMPLING
IS A PROCESS OF SELECTING BASED FROM JUDGEMENT TO SELECT A
SAMPLE WHICH THE RESEARCHER BELIEVED.
3. QUOTA SAMPLING
IS APPLIED WHEN AN INVESTIGATOR SURVEY COLLECTS
INFORMATION FROM AN ASSIGNED NUMBER, OR QUOTA OF INDIVIDUAL
FROM ONE OF SEVERAL SAMPLE UNITS FULFILLING CERTAIN PRESCRIBED
CRITERIA OR BELONGING TO ONE STRATUM.

4. SNOWBALL SAMPLING
IS A TECHNIQUE IN WHICH ONE OR MORE MEMBERS OF
POPULATION ARE LOCATED AND USED TO LEAD THE RESEARCHERS TO
OTHER MEMBERS OF THE POPULATION.
 METHODS OF COLLECTING DATA

1.DIRECT OR INTERVIEW METHOD

2. INDIRECT OR QUESTIONNAIRE METHOD
3. REGISTRATION METHOD
4. OBSERVATION METHOD
5. EXPERIMENT METHOD
 METHODS OF PRESENTING DATA
1. TEXTUAL METHOD
2. TABULAR METHOD
3. GRAPHICAL METHOD