Chapter 1: Data Collection

1. 1.1 Introduction to the Practice of Statistics
2. 1.2 Observational Studies versus Designed Experiments
3. 1.3 Random Sampling
4. 1.4 Bias in Sampling
5. 1.5 The Design of Experiments

Statistics is a process. The first step in that process is collecting data, which is what we'll focus on in this first chapter.

In Section 1.1, we introduce the process of statistics, and the different ways to classify data. In Section 1.2, we talk about different sources for data, and we introduce a couple of very important ones: observational studies and designed experiments. We'll introduce one way to select a random sample from a population in Section 1.3, and Section 1.4 will introduce several more.

In Section 1.5, various sources for error in sampling are discussed, while Section 1.6 covers how to design a statistical experiment.

By the end of this section, you should have a good understanding of the process of statistics, how to select a random sample from a population, how to avoid errors in that sample, and how to design statistical experiments. If you're ready to begin, just click on the "start" link below, or one of the section links on the left.

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