Making sense of Statistics
Presented by Prof. Marian Scott
Statistics and statisticians appear in many different shapes and sizes, but one thing is clear, we all need to be able to understand them, regardless of what we do. Statistics is not just about counting things, it's about estimating quantities in a wider population from measurements in a smaller sample. So in this masterclass, we will take a look at some statistics, generate some statistics and think about what it is possible to learn using statistical tools.
We will use a number of examples to explore the power or Statistics including how to examine relationships such as how does the 'size' of your hand and other measures determine your grip strength, how to tell the boys from the girls (when talking about herring gulls), how to design a survey and then analyse it to predict the outcome of the Scottish referendum in 2014, and even closer to home, develop a statistical model that will help us predict the winning times in the 100m and 200m sprints in the Commonwealth Games.
These are just a few examples of how statistics and statisticians are involved in many different areas. Come along and learn more.