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DEFINITIONS
DATA, INFORMATION & STATISTICS
As the world approaches the 21st Century we are facing new and challenging problems. More than ever before, governments, industry and the wider community need information to help them to make decisions to tackle these problems.
The need for an informed society is one reason why Australian secondary education is developing an emphasis on students gathering data and presenting information to complete work requirements. In some cases students gather data, process it and present it as statistics. Before undertaking such activities it is important to have a sound understanding of the terms data, information and statistics. They are often misunderstood.
Before one can present and interpret information there has to be a process of gathering and sorting data. Just as crude oil is the raw material from which petrol is distilled, so too, data can be viewed as the raw material from which information is obtained. Therefore, a good definition of data is:
Data are observations or facts which when collected, organised and evaluated become information or knowledge.
Data can take various forms, but is often numerical. As such, data can relate to an enormous variety of events, for example: the number of twins born every day, or the number of times Australia has beaten England in a one-day cricket match. Other forms of data exist; such as radio signals, digitised images and laser patterns on a compact disc.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) collects data every day to provide information. For the 1996 Census of Population and Housing the ABS collected nearly seven hundred million (696,000,000) separate observations! An example of one of these observations is shown below.
| 19 | How well does the person speak English? | (1) Very well
( ) Well
( ) Not well
( ) Not at all |
Once data have been collected and processed they are ready to be organised into information. Indeed, it is hard to imagine reasons for collecting data other than to provide information. This information leads to knowledge about issues, and helps individuals and groups to make informed decisions.
In practice, informed decision-making can save countries millions of dollars, for example: through accurate targeting of government spending. It can also lead to life saving breakthroughs in medicine, and can help conserve the earth’s natural environment. Therefore, a good definition of information is:
Information is data that has been organised to serve a useful purpose.
Information, like data, can take various forms. The first known artefacts containing information date back 40,000 years; animal bones are believed to have been etched with information about phases of the moon. Astronomers are using information in the form of organised radio waves to explore space. In recent years, visual information through the medium of television and video has become very common.
The 17th Century, English philosopher Francis Bacon recognised the importance of knowledge many years ago. His quotation below is probably more true today than it has ever been, and is an important reason why the general public should have access to information. This theme is explored in more detail in the Information Studies section of this publication.
“KNOWLEDGE ITSELF IS POWER.”
Francis Bacon
Statistics represent a common method of presenting information. In general, statistics relate to numerical data, and can refer to the science of dealing with numerical data or the numerical data itself. Above all, statistics aim to provide useful information by means of numbers. Therefore, a good definition of statistics is:
Statistics are numerical data that have been organised to serve a useful purpose.
A major role of the ABS is to provide the Australian community with statistics that will help them make informed decisions. Statistical information provided by the ABS is used widely in Australia: by governments, business people, doctors, farmers, teachers and students.
The provision of accurate and authoritative statistical information strengthens modern societies. It provides a basis for decisions to be made on such things as where to open schools and hospitals, how much money to spend on welfare payments and even which football players to replace at half-time! An example of decision-making from statistical information is given below.
In May 1993 the Victorian Transport Accident Commission began a radio, television and newspaper advertising campaign about motorcycle awareness. They did so in response to the previous year’s statistics on road fatalities in Victoria.
These showed that despite an overall 15 per cent decrease in fatalities in metropolitan areas, the number of motorcyclists killed in metropolitan areas increased by almost 30 per cent! | +30% |
The text below contain examples of statistical information. As you will see, statistical information can be presented in different ways, including: graph, table or illustration. Presenting statistics graphically is discussed in detail in the Stats Maths section of this publication.
EXAMPLE 1
| SELECTED OCCUPATIONS, VICTORIA :1881 CENSUS |
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 | Males | Females |
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| Boarding house keeper | 162 | 458 |
| Capitalists | 378 | 103 |
| Farm servant | 5,394 | 2,160 |
| Hotel keeper | 3,102 | 848 |
| Jack-of-all-trades | 1 | 0 |
| Loafers | 2 | 0 |
| Mesmerist | 1 | 0 |
| Mudlarker | 1 | 0 |
| Music teacher | 190 | 732 |
| Nurse | 0 | 981 |
| Opium sellers | 59 | 1 |
| Scarecrow -on -a -farm | 1 | 0 |
| Statistician | 1 | 0 |
| Ventriloquist | 1 | 1 |
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This is a table of statistical information about occupations in Victoria last century. It shows the number of people in Victoria who had particular occupations at the time of the 1881 Census. Note how some occupations are referred to differently today!
(The total number of males and females in the table is 14,577.)
EXAMPLE 2
POPULATION, AUSTRALIA, 1996 CENSUS |
This chart is an age-sex pyramid from the 1996 Census. It shows statistical information on Australia’s population by age-group and sex.
Age-sex pyramids are commonly used to present statistical information on the composition of a population. In the chart the population of Australia totals 17,892,423.
EXAMPLE 3
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| AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, GRAND FINAL, 1997 |
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| | | Kicks | Marks | Handball | Free | Scr | ho | tk | sh | |
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| 1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 4 | 1 2 3 4 | F A | G B | | | | |
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| 4 3 3 5 | 1 1 2 1 | 2 0 1 1 | 2 2 | 6 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |
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| 4 1 2 2 | 1 0 0 0 | 3 1 0 1 | 1 4 | 0 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
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| 3 2 2 2 | 2 1 1 1 | 2 1 1 0 | 0 2 | 1 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
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| 0 4 2 3 | 0 0 1 0 | 0 1 1 0 | 0 1 | 0 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
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| 3 0 1 1 | 2 0 0 2 | 2 1 0 1 | 1 0 | 0 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | |
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| 0 2 5 2 | 0 0 2 0 | 0 0 4 2 | 0 1 | 0 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
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| 3 0 2 3 | 1 0 2 3 | 1 1 0 2 | 1 0 | 5 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
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| 2 1 1 5 | 1 0 1 0 | 0 2 0 1 | 1 0 | 0 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
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| 0 2 1 0 | 0 1 1 0 | 1 0 0 0 | 1 1 | 0 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
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| 3 1 2 1 | 3 1 1 0 | 0 1 0 0 | 1 2 | 4 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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| 0 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 0 | 0 1 | 0 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
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| 8 2 2 6 | 4 1 2 4 | 1 4 4 4 | 0 1 | 0 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
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| 0 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 0 | 1 0 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
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| 2 2 1 1 | 0 1 0 1 | 1 1 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
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| 2 3 2 3 | 0 0 1 1 | 3 2 4 2 | 1 1 | 0 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
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| 3 1 3 2 | 0 1 1 1 | 1 1 0 1 | 0 2 | 0 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
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| 1 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 0 | 0 0 0 0 | 1 0 | 0 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
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| 5 2 4 5 | 3 0 1 0 | 0 0 3 0 | 0 2 | 1 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
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| 1 0 3 2 | 0 0 1 0 | 0 2 1 2 | 3 0 | 1 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
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| 3 2 2 4 | 3 1 0 2 | 1 0 2 1 | 2 1 | 1 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
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| 3 2 4 3 | 1 0 3 2 | 0 1 2 2 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 16 | 4 | 0 | |
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This table of statistical information shows how the Adelaide players performed in the 1997 AFL Grand Final.
The match statistics are shown quarter by quarter under the bold column headings 1, 2, 3, 4.
The last four column headings of the table indicate: Scr = Score, ho = hit-outs, tk = tackles and sh = shepherds.
EXAMPLE 4
| FASTEST TENNIS SERVE, AUSTRALIAN OPEN, 1998 | |
This is an illustration of statistical information. It refers to players who made the fastest serves at the 1998 Australian Tennis Open.
The illustration shows information about the speed of tennis serves, and the fastest serve recorded since measurements began.
EXERCISES
| 1. | In your own words define the terms: data, information and statistics. Give examples of each. |
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| 2. | Put the following terms in correct logical order: KNOWLEDGE — DATA — INFORMATION. |
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| 3. | Identify three current political, economic or social issues for which information is necessary. Then describe the information that is needed for each issue. |
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| 4. | On the previous examples of statistical information. Which one contains the fewest observations and which one contains the most? |
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| 5. | In Example 1, one occupation has no male units (zero observations). Does this mean that no information is available for males in that occupation? |
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| 6. | In Example 2, which male and female age group has the largest population? |
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| 7. | In Example 3, which Adelaide players recorded no marks for the entire match? |
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| 8. | In Example 4, information on how many units (tennis players) are illustrated? |
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| 9. | Who do you think we might need the information in Example 1, and for what purpose? |
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| 10. | Who do you think we might need the information in Example 2, and for what purpose? |
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| 11. | Does the information in Example 3 tell you accurately which players performed better than others in the Grand Final? Explain. |
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| 12. | Which example required a scientific instrument to collect the data? |
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| 13. | Which example shows all the individual observations collected? |
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| 14. | These examples also illustrate the variety of ways in which statistics can be presented. Look in newspapers or journals for other ways in which statistics are presented. Be careful to distinguish between data, information and statistics as in question 1. |
Click here for answers
The quotation below is probably the most famous one about statistics. Later in this publication you will see how easy it is to be misled by statistical information. If used wisely, however, statistics can be a powerful tool in decision-making.
“THERE ARE LIES, DAMNED LIES, AND ... STATISTICS”.
Mark Twain
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