STATISTICAL

ANALYSIS
WITH SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS
WHAT IS STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WITH SOFTWARE APPLICATION?
Statistical software are specialized computer programs which help
you to collect, organize, analyze, interpret and statistically design
data. There are two main statistical techniques which help in
statistical data analysis: descriptive statistics and inferential
statistics.
Descriptive statistics are brief descriptive coefficients that
summarize a given data set, which can be either a representation
of the entire or a sample of a population. Descriptive
statistics are broken down into measures of central tendency and
measures of variability (spread).
If descriptive statistics describes data (for example, a chart or
graph), inferential statistics allows you to make predictions
(“inferences”) from that data. With inferential statistics, you take
data from samples and make generalizations about a population.
STATISTICAL SOFTWARE
Statistical software are specialized computer
programs which help you to collect, organize,
analyze, interpret and statistically design data.
There are two main statistical techniques which
help in statistical data analysis: descriptive
statistics and inferential statistics.
Descriptive statistics organize data from a
sample using indexes. Inferential statistics draw
a conclusion from data that is a random variant.
Statistics are crucial for organizations. They
provide factual data which is critical in detecting
trends in the marketplace so that businesses can
compare their performance against their
competitors.
 BENEFITS OF STATISTICAL
ANALYSIS
• Statistical analysis allows businesses to make crucial
decisions about projects.
• It helps identify trends in the marketplace that can
determine whether a project is right to invest in or not.
• Business statistics help project future trends for better
planning.
• If you are considering risk factors for a specific project that
your company wants to roll out then statistics are necessary.

13/01/2025 4
BEST STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SOFTWARE FOR
WINDOWS
• Try to find descriptions/discussion for the following statistical
software and understand how they work.

Minitab Boro SPC for Excel

MatLab SPSS XLStat
Qlik Sense Stata Wolfram Mathematica
GraphPad Prism Statistix JMP Statistical Software
SAS Visual Analytics SigmaPlot NumXL
Analyse-it Scilab MaxStat
Grapheme Design-Expert ESBStats
 Sampling Procedure
• Sample: a portion of the entire group (called
a population)
• Sampling procedure: choosing part of a
population to use to test hypotheses about
the entire population.
• Used to choose the number of participants,
interviews, or work samples to use in the
assessment process.
• If the sample data will be generalized to
reflect the population, statistical selection
processes should be
 Types of Sampling
Procedures

• Purposeful - choose subjects that you believe will be

able to provide you with important information. Types
of purposeful sampling: “maximum variation”, “typical
case”, “critical case” and “extreme or deviant case”
(Patton, 1989, pg 100-107).

• Key informant - a specific person that you believe will

give you the most information - sometimes used to
develop interview questions or to begin snowball
sampling.
 Types of Sampling
Procedures

• Snowball - you ask the participants to provide you

with names of those that will be able to provide you
with
important information.
• Convenience - simply asking anyone to whom you
have easy access. Avoid this if possible.
• Random table/random selection - when each
person of the population has an equal chance of been
selected. Selection is based on random procedure
such as using random table of numbers. (Choosing
every fifth person is NOT a random selection.)
 Types of Sampling Procedures
• Stratified sampling - “stratified” means choosing from
various sub-groups. The population is divided into
subpopulations and random samples are taken of each
subpopulation. For example, stratified by gender. If
the population has 25% females and 75% males, the
sample should be chosen randomly by
subpopulations and consist of 25% females and 75% males.
• Whole population - the entire population is used. (e.g.,
entire course, entire university, all students within a
program, etc). This is especially true if the population is
small.
 How Many To Choose

• Is the sample reflective of the variation of the group you are

interested in? If you are interested in differences between males
and females, will your sample provide sufficient data on both males
and females? (Seidman, 1998)

• Assessment is used mostly for program improvement and usually

not for scientific research on effects on student learning. Therefore,
if the number of students in the course (population is a course in
this example) is between 25-100, then use the entire student
population for that course. If the course has multiple sections, take
a sample from the various sections to equal between 50-100.
 How Many To
Choose

• For statistical confidence and uses for

generalization, then use the sample size
calculator. (
http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html)
 How Many To Choose

• For statistical confidence and uses for generalization, then

calculate the exact sample size needed with a
sample size calculator. (
http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html )
• “How many different assignments, homework, reports and
tests from the course do I need to collect?”
Consider this Principle of Good Practice for Assessing Student
Learning: “Assessment makes a difference when it begins
with issues of use and illuminates questions that people
really care about.”
 Tips to ensure Quality

• Always consider how the data will be used. Carefully consider

the costs of using an incorrect sample. In addition to monetary
costs, there could be political or public relations fallout. If the
costs of choosing a poor sample are high, choose a higher degree
of statistical confidence and a larger sample.
• If you are choosing your sample to participate in an assessment
method, estimate the possibility of how many won’t participate.
For example, for surveys, you might expect a 50% response rate.
Therefore, the sample size will need to reflect your anticipated
participation rate. If you expect low rate, increase initial sample.
This is better than doing the assessment method twice, because
you did not get enough data.
 Methods of sampling from a
population

Sampling is a method that allows researchers to

infer information about a population based on
results from a subset of the population, without
having to investigate every individual.

If a sample is to be used, by whatever method it is

chosen, it is important that the individuals selected are
representative of the whole population.
 Probability Sampling Methods
1. Simple random sampling
• In this case each individual is chosen entirely by chance
and each member of the population has an equal chance,
or probability, of being selected.
• A specific advantage is that it is the most straightforward
method of probability sampling.
• A disadvantage of simple random sampling is that you
may not select enough individuals with your
characteristic of interest, especially if that characteristic
is uncommon
 Probability Sampling
Methods
2. Systematic sampling
• Individuals are selected at regular intervals from the
sampling frame. The intervals are chosen to ensure
an adequate sample size. If you need a sample size n
from a population of size x, you should select every
x/nth individual for the sample.
• Systematic sampling is often more convenient than
simple random sampling, and it is easy to administer.
However, it may also lead to bias
 Probability Sampling Methods
3. Stratified sampling

• In this method, the population is first divided into subgroups (or

strata) who all share a similar characteristic. It is used when we
might reasonably expect the measurement of interest to vary
between the different subgroups, and we want to ensure
representation from all the subgroups.
• Stratified sampling improves the accuracy and
representativeness of the results by reducing sampling bias.
However, it requires knowledge of the appropriate
characteristics of the sampling frame (the details of which are
not always available), and it can be difficult to decide which
characteristic(s) to stratify by.
 Probability Sampling Methods
4. Clustered sampling
• In a clustered sample, subgroups of the population are used
as the sampling unit, rather than individuals. The population
is divided into subgroups, known as clusters, which are
randomly selected to be included in the study.
• Cluster sampling can be more efficient that simple random
sampling, especially where a study takes place over a wide
geographical region.
• Disadvantages include an increased risk of bias, if the
chosen clusters are not representative of the population,
resulting in an increased sampling error.
 Non-Probability Sampling Methods

1. Convenience sampling

• Convenience sampling is perhaps the easiest method of

sampling, because participants are selected based on availability
and willingness to take part.
• Useful results can be obtained, but the results are prone to
significant bias, because those who volunteer to take part may be
different from those who choose not to (volunteer bias), and the
sample may not be representative of other characteristics, such
as age or sex. Note: volunteer bias is a risk of all non-probability
sampling methods.
 Non-Probability Sampling
Methods
2. Consecutive sampling:

• This non-probability sampling method is very similar

to convenience sampling, with a slight variation.
Here, the researcher picks a single person or a group
of a sample, conducts research over a period,
analyzes the results, and then moves on to another
subject or group if needed.
 Non-Probability Sampling
Methods

3. Quota sampling

• This method of sampling is often used by market researchers.

Interviewers are given a quota of subjects of a specified type
to attempt to recruit.
• This has the advantage of being relatively straightforward and
potentially representative, the chosen sample may not be
representative of other characteristics that weren’t considered
(a consequence of the non-random nature of sampling).
 Non-Probability Sampling
Methods
4. Judgment (or Purposive) Sampling
• Also known as selective, or subjective, sampling, this technique relies
on the judgment of the researcher when choosing who to ask to
participate. Researchers may implicitly thus choose a “representative”
sample to suit their needs, or specifically approach individuals with
certain characteristics. This approach is often used by the media when
canvassing the public for opinions and in qualitative research.
• Judgment sampling has the advantage of being time-and cost-effective
to perform while resulting in a range of responses (particularly useful in
qualitative research). However, in addition to volunteer bias, it is also
prone to errors of judgment by the researcher and the findings.
 Non-Probability Sampling
Methods
5. Snowball sampling

• This method is commonly used in social sciences when investigating

hard-to-reach groups. Existing subjects are asked to nominate
further subjects known to them, so the sample increases in size like
a rolling snowball.
• Snowball sampling can be effective when a sampling frame is
difficult to identify. However, by selecting friends and acquaintances
of subjects already investigated, there is a significant risk of
selection bias.
 Bias in sampling
There are five important potential sources of bias that
should be considered when selecting a sample,
irrespective of the method used. Sampling bias may be
introduced when:
1. Any pre-agreed sampling rules are deviated from
2. People in hard-to-reach groups are omitted
3. Selected individuals are replaced with others, for
example if they are difficult to contact
4. There are low response rates
5. An out-of-date list is used as the sample frame (for
example, if it excludes people who have recently moved to
an area)