What the Difference Between Statistics As Numerical Fact and Statistics As a Discipline?

Statistics as a numerical fact is a piece of numerical information, also known as data, used to describe an event, occurrence or phenomena. Statistics as a discipline uses statistics or numerical pieces of information to solve problems in the everyday world and in academics. Those who work with statistics as a discipline are called statisticians.

The discipline of statistics covers several areas of science and industries, including the environment, health and epidemiology, computer science and astronomy. Statisticians may also work in education, engineering and in other non-science sectors such as business. Work is done primarily in an office setting, but they may also travel to sites to collect data to analyze later.

Statisticians may work for government or in the private sector. Statistician positions generally require a graduate degree in mathematics or statistics, but some jobs may only require a bachelor’s degree. Statisticians present their data through several graphs and plots such as pie or chart graphs, bar graphs and stem and leaf plots.

Statistics may be descriptive or inferential. Descriptive statistics describe features of the population or sample being studied and includes measurements such as mean, median and mode. Inferential statistics involve inferring something about the population studied. This process is done through hypothesis testing.