Statistics and Math: the link and why should you not worry about it..
Statistics is taught in schools as part of the math syllabus and thus it is usually perceived as a mathematical concept. The schools emphasize on computations of complex statistical information rather than development of sound analytical skills and points of view (Gattuso, 2006). This usually makes the students perceive statistics as a dry and number crunching discipline. Nothing could be farther from truth. Though statistics does involve numbers crunching in the form of data processing as it revolves around data and how it can be made to make sense for common people, it does so in a very smooth, sophisticated yet logical manner. So if you are good at logic, you can be really good in statistics. The typical calculations are anyway nowadays done mostly by various statistical software which aid in arriving at patterns of data that can be interpreted in a useful manner.
All said and done, all statistical concepts do have some or the other underlying mathematical principles to them. However, as we begin to appreciate the applicability of the same to our day to day lives, it all starts falling into place. Things start becoming clearer and clearer and if we do not lose track or get distracted we can soon reach a point where we start seeing data and numbers as a source of informed opinion on things we earlier thought we could never have an opinion. Unfortunately, the misconceptions about statistics picked up at school level are carried forward to higher levels of education where research and often quantitative research becomes an important means to prove your proficiency in the given subject. While research does not always involve statistics, as there are many different kinds of qualitative approaches to research, the level of logical or reasoning ability required in both qualitative and quantitative approaches is unique in its own way.So if you are pursuing academic research in any form, be it a school project, a research paper, a coursework, a case study, a dissertation or a PhD thesis, my advice is not to avoid quantitative research in the form of statistical thought and analysis as this might be the preferred and appropriate way to go about in many research situations. Usually qualitative and quantitative research complement each other and we can ignore one only at the cost of other and indeed consequently at the cost of good quality research.
Statistics can in fact be treated as mathematics applied in an interesting and motivating manner. Numbers are found in everyday life and most of the mathematics included in statistics has already been taught at school level. Rest is only well reasoned concepts and formulas based on the math that has already been studied in school.
There are so many interesting uses of statistics we can see all around us. The election opinion polls results we see during election times are based on statistics, the weather reports on TV, the airlines flight timings, the expected arrival and departure times of trains, the efficacy or composition of the medicine you might have last consumed are all based on statistics. The performance of your favorite sports star is analysed using statistics and presented to you. The economic performance of your country including inflation, GDP, per-capita income all are calculated and interpreted using statistical principles.
So, the next time you frown at the prospect of using statistics in research, think twice. We will discuss more in forthcoming posts of this series about how to develop a simplistic yet effective understanding of statistical concepts, so that you can pursue your research confidently.
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