Benefits of Statistics - Essay Example

Managers, scientists, engineers, and even average citizens deal with information. However, the information can be useful when it is reliable, adequate, timely, accurate, and easily accessible (Wegner, 2007).  To obtain all these qualities it has to be properly processed. Basing on reliable information managers can make effective decisions. Using statistics, the engineer can estimate the work of new equipment. Pharmaceutics can evaluate whether the new drug improves health state or not. Statistical methods are a useful tool for many spheres where the information is processed.

Statistics is divided into two parts. Statistical methods concerned with the description and summarization of data are called descriptive statistics. Statistical methods concerned with drawing conclusions from data and finding the relationships are called inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics is the first stage of data processing. When the data is properly processed, the expert can make a conclusion or a forecast using inferential statistics (Ross, 2010).   Sometimes collected data does not have any sense for the researcher.

Descriptive statistics concerns the finding minimum, maximum, average values of measured parameters and with errors of the measurement. It also permits the elimination of unreliable measurements and to compare different groups of data. For example, an engineer can compare the energy consumption of the equipment before and after making improvements, and make a conclusion about the efficiency of the improvements. Inferential statistics permit us to find out whether two or more parameters are connected, and how strong is the relationship.

Inferential statistics also estimate a type of relationship between the measured parameters. Such a relationship is described by the mathematical equation. This equation (or formula) serves for the prediction of the processor for making a proper decision.It would be impossible to rely on any measurements if the information would not be processed properly.