Statistics is a body of mathematical techniques or processes for gathering, organizing, analysing and interpreting numerical data . Because most research yields such quantitative data, statistics is a basic tool of measurment,evaluation and research.
The word statistics is sometimes used to describe the numerical data gathered. Statistical data describe group behaviour or group charecteristics abstracted from a number of individual observations that are combined to make generalizations possible.
MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY
Non statisticians use averages to describe the charecteristics of groups in a general way of the many average that may be used three have been selected as most useful in educational research; the mean, the median, and the mode.
THE MEAN
It is the simplest but most useful measure of central tendency. It is nothing but the 'average' which we compute in our high school arithemetic and therfore can be easily defined as the sum of all the values of the items in a series divided by the number of items. It is designated by the symbol M.
THE MEDIAN
If the item of a series are arranged in ascending or descending order of magnitude, the measures or value of the central item in the series is termed the median.
THE MODE
Mode is defined to be size of the variable which occurs most frequently. In any series it is the value of the item which is most charecteristics or common and is usually repeated maximum number of times.
