Department of Human Resource Management

Faculty of Management and Finance

University of Ruhuna

BBA 11023: Business Mathematics and Statistics

Lecture week: 05
Lecture topic: Introduction to Statistics
Lecturer: Dr. J. Ramawickrama
Senior Lecturer
Department of Human Resource Management
19th May 2025
Your Reflection

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What Is Statistics?

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Statistics
▪ Statistics involve applying a range of techniques and
procedures for analyzing, interpreting, displaying, and
making decisions based on data

▪ It’s all around you!

▪ Statistics are part of your everyday life, and they are

subject to interpretation. The interpreter, of course, is
YOU.
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Statistics in business….
▪ The aim of the business statistics is to extract the best
possible information from data and use it to make business
decisions.
▪ The source of data in business range from a population census to
commercial and public databases, surveys, sales reports and
demand records.
Applications Across Fields:
➢Healthcare: Clinical trials, public health
➢Business: Market analysis, quality control
➢Sports: Performance analytics, strategy
➢Government: Censuses, economic planning
➢Social Sciences: Surveys, behavioral studies 5
 Key Roles of Statistics
1. Describing and summarizing data
2. Making informed decisions
3. Identifying patterns and trends
4. Predicting future outcomes

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 Key Roles of Statistics…..
1. Describing and summarizing data
Descriptive statistics help simplify large amounts of data into
understandable summaries, so we can quickly identify patterns,
trends, or key characteristics.
This is done using:
• Numerical summaries: mean, median, mode, range, standard
deviation
• Visual summaries: tables, graphs, charts

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 Key Roles of Statistics…..
2. Making informed decisions
Statistics helps individuals, businesses, and governments make
decisions based on data rather than guesswork. It allows us to
evaluate options, reduce uncertainty, and choose the most effective
course of action.
This is typically done using:
▪ Sampling and data collection
• Probability and forecasting
• Hypothesis testing
• Predictive models
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 Key Roles of Statistics…..
3. Identifying patterns and trends
Statistics helps uncover repeated behaviors, long-term movements,
or relationships within data over time or across different groups.
These patterns guide predictions, reveal causes, and support
planning.
This involves tools like:
• Time series analysis
• Correlation and regression
• Frequency distributions
• Data visualization (e.g., line graphs, scatter plots)
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 Key Roles of Statistics…..
4. Predicting future outcomes
Statistics allows us to use past data to make informed forecasts about
what is likely to happen in the future.
This involves:
• Trend analysis
• Regression models
• Probability and forecasting techniques
• Machine learning (in advanced cases)
These tools help organizations and individuals anticipate events,
prepare strategies, and reduce risks.
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 Key Concepts and Terminology

Term Meaning
▪
Population Entire group of interest

Sample A subset of the population

Variable A characteristic that can vary

Data Collected observations

Mean Average value

Medium Middle value

Standard Measure of spread

Deviation 11
Basics
▪ Population: Population refers to set of all individuals,
items or data of interest

▪ Sample: A sample is a subset from a larger population

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Example
A teacher wants to know how well the students in the class did on
their last test. The teacher asks the 10 students sitting in the front
row to state their latest test score. He concludes from their report
that the class did extremely well.

▪ What is the sample?

▪ What is the population?

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Types of Statistics
In statistics, generally two
types of statistics involve: Statistics

Descriptive Inferential
statistics statistics
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Descriptive Statistics
▪ Descriptive statistics are used to:
- to summarize, organize, and make sense of a set of
scores or observations
- describe the characteristics of your sample
- typically presented graphically, in tabular form (in tables),
or as summary statistics (single values)

▪ Common descriptive statistics are: Mean (average),

Median (middle) and Mode (most frequent)
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 Descriptive Statistics……
▪ A random sample of 10 male basketball players will be drawn, whose height will be
measured in meters.
▪ Player Body height
1 1.62
2 1.72
3 1.55
4 1.7
Mean
5 1.78
6 1.65 Medium
7 1.64
8 1.64 Mode
9 1.66
10 1.74 Standard Deviation

Minimum

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Inferential Statistics
▪ Inferential statistics are procedures used that
allow researchers to infer or generalize
observations made with samples to the larger
population from which they were selected

▪ Involves testing hypotheses and

draw conclusions

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Depending o

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 Basics of Statistics
▪ Data: Data refers to the information that has been
collected from an experiment, a survey, an interview or a
historical record
E.g. A researcher collects data from a group of students about
their eating behaviors at the university. The data include
types of food, frequency of food intakes and their demographic
data (age, gender, residence)

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Data and Information
▪ Raw data vs. Processed data
▪ Raw data refers to the original, unorganized, and unprocessed
information collected from observations, surveys, experiments, or sensors.
▪ Examples: A list of student test scores: 78, 92, 85, 85, 74, 60, 88,100
Survey responses like: Age: 21, 22, 19, 21
Gender: M, F, M, F
Temperature readings from a sensor: 22.4, 22.5, 22.3, 22.6
▪ Processed data is organized, cleaned, and summarized information that
has been transformed to make it meaningful and useful for analysis and
decision-making.
▪ Mean test score: 82.75
Summary table: Gender Average Age Satisfaction Score
M 20 3.5
F 21.5 5.0 20
▪ Data or information gives some important idea or message to a
person, firm or society
▪ Data and information is very valuable to everyone for making
decisions or deciding next action in achieving objectives

Feature Raw Data Processed Data

Format Unorganized, unstructured, Cleaned, organized, and summarized
Readability Hard to interpret Easy to understand
Usage Input for analysis Output used for decision-making
Example List of numbers Average, graph, chart
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Types of Data

Data

Qualitative Quantitative
Data Data
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 Qualitative Data
Qualitative data refers to non-numerical information that describes
qualities, characteristics, or categories. It tells what something is,
not how much or how many.

Example: Blood type: A, B, AB, O

Gender: Male, Female, Other
Marital status: Single, Married, Divorced
Eye color: Brown, Blue, Green

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 Quantitative Data
▪ Quantitative data is the data that has numerical values about a selected
item

Example
▪ Average monthly living expenses of university student is Rs. 10,000
▪ There are 6,000,000 houses in Sri Lanka
▪ Minimum pass mark of the faculty subject is 40.

Persons use both qualitative data and quantitative data in their decision-
making process.
But do not consider the types of data. Both are important to decision making.
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Data Sources

Data Sources

Secondary
Primary Data
Data
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Primary Data
Primary data is one which the researcher collects for the first time
to understand and solve a research problem at hand
The researcher may use surveys, interviews, experiments or
observations to collect primary data
Examples
1. A person who wanted to know average living expenses of families, conducted a
data collection process using 100 families who lived in separate houses
2. A teacher who wanted to know additional reading hours of his students, asked
and marked additional reading hours from his 40 students in his class room
3. A researcher who wanted to know what the usage of Southern high way is in a
one-day time period, he examined and marked detailed by staying near the high
way in a one-day period (observation)
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Secondary Data
Secondary data is the data that is collected by someone other
than the researcher/primary user
Common sources of secondary data for social science include
censuses, information collected by government institutions or
organizational records
Examples
1. A person gets information about GDP by central bank report
2. A person gets vehicle accident information in Matara area from past
accident reports from Matara police station
3. An investor obtains share prices from the stock exchange website

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Comparing Primary and Secondary
Data
Primary data Secondary data

Collection cost is high Collection cost is low

Collection effort is difficult Easy to collect

Require more supporters/assistance One person is enough

Relevancy and reliability is high Relevancy and reliability is low

Time gap (collect and use) is high Time gap (collect and use) is low
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 Primary Data Collection Methods
Method Description Example

Surveys / Structured questions to gather data A company surveys 500 customers about product
Questionnaires from people satisfaction

Face-to-face, phone, or online

A researcher interviews farmers about crop yield
Interviews conversations to collect detailed
challenges
responses

Watching and recording behaviors or A scientist observes animal behavior in a natural

Observations
events in real-time habitat

Controlled studies where variables

Experiments A lab tests the effect of a drug on patients
are manipulated

Guided group discussions to gather A marketing team conducts a focus group to test
Focus Groups
opinions a new ad concept

Data collected on-site in real-world An environmentalist records pollution levels in

Field Studies
environments different city areas

Measurements / Direct data from instruments or

A technician measures air quality using a sensor
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Tests physical tools
 Secondary Data Collection Methods

Source Type Examples

Census reports, labor statistics, economic surveys, health

Government Publications
department data

Research Journals Published academic articles, thesis papers

Books and Textbooks Statistical summaries, theories, past findings

Websites and Databases World Bank, UN, WHO, IMF, Google Scholar

Media Reports Newspapers, magazines, online articles

Internal Company Records Sales reports, financial statements, customer databases

Institutional Reports Reports from NGOs, universities, think tanks

Historical Records Archives, old manuscripts, historical weather or economic data

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 Presentation of Data
▪ Presenting statistical data effectively is essential for clear
communication and informed decision-making. Here's a guide on
how to present statistical data, including types, methods, and best
practices
▪ 2. Methods of Presenting Statistical Data
a. Textual Presentation
▪ Describing data in words. Best for small datasets or highlighting
key figures.
▪ Example: "Out of 100 surveyed students, 60% preferred online learning“
b. Tabular Presentation
▪ Organizes data in rows and columns. Useful for comparison and
detailed data display.
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Presentation of Data………

c. Graphical Presentation
Visual representation for quick understanding and impact.
Types of Graphs and Charts:
1.Bar Chart – Compares quantities across categories.
2.Pie Chart – Shows proportions of a whole.
3.Histogram – Distribution of continuous data.
4.Line Graph – Trends over time.
5.Scatter Plot – Relationships between two variables.
6.Box Plot – Displays data spread and outliers.
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 Exercise 1: Textual Data Presentation
Data:
A survey was conducted on 50 people about their preferred type of
movie:
Action: 20
Comedy: 15
Drama: 10
Horror: 5
Task:
Write a textual summary of the data.

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▪ Answer:
A survey conducted on 50 individuals revealed their
preferences for different movies. The results showed
that Action movies were the most popular, chosen by
20 people. Comedy was the second most preferred
with 15 people favoring it. Drama attracted 10 people,
while Horror was the least popular, preferred by only 5
people. Overall, the survey highlights a strong
preference for action and comedy films among the
participants.
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Exercise 2: Tabular Data Presentation
Data:
A store records the number of customers on different days of
a:
Monday: 120, Tuesday: 150, Wednesday: 100,Thursday: 130,
Friday: 200
Task:
Present the data in a table with an added column for
percentage of weekly total.

▪ Solution:
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 b. Example for Tabular presentation
Table 4.3: Age Distribution of Development Officers

Frequency Percent

21-30 years 21 19.4

31-40 years 49 45.4

41-50 years 38 35.2

Total 108 100.0

Source: Survey data (2023)

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c. Example
)
for Graphical Presentation……….

Figure 4.2: Age Distribution

Source: Survey data (2023)
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 Exercise 3: Bar Chart
Exercise 1: Monthly Sales Comparison
▪ Scenario:
A company records the sales (in $1,000s) for four products in January.
▪ Draw a bar chart ...

Product Sales ($1,000s)

A 50
B 75
C 40
D 65

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 Exercise 4: Pie Chart
▪ Let us draw a pie chart for given data….
Types of Values of data (Sales in
product items 000) per month
A 7
B 10
C 6
D 13

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 Grouped and Un-grouped data
Ungrouped Data (Raw Data)
Ungrouped data is raw data that has not been organized
into groups or intervals. Each data point is listed
individually.
Example:
1. A teacher records the test scores of 10 students out of
20 marks:
▪ Scores: 12, 18, 15, 17, 14, 13, 16, 12, 19, 15

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 Grouped and Un-grouped data
Grouped Data
Grouped data is data that has been organized into groups or intervals, often
used for large data sets.
Example:
▪ The same scores can be grouped into intervals:
▪ Instead of listing each individual score, we show how many values fall into each
group.
Score Range Frequency
10 – 12 2
13 – 15 4
16 – 18 3
19 – 20 1
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Thank you

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