Statistics Foundation · Lesson 1.1
What is statistics?
Statistics is the discipline of learning from data under uncertainty. This lesson explains the basic language of statistical thinking: population, sample, variable, parameter, statistic, variation, bias and inference.
60–75 minute lesson plan
Learn statistics as a reasoning process.
This lesson is designed to be studied slowly. Read the lecture, explore the visual lab, answer the practice questions, and then complete the quiz. By the end, you should be able to explain what statistics is without relying only on formulas.
0–8 min
Orientation
Understand what statistics means and why it is more than calculating averages or drawing graphs.
8–20 min
Core vocabulary
Learn the meaning of population, sample, variable, parameter, statistic and inference.
20–35 min
Statistical reasoning
Follow how a research question becomes data, then evidence, then a careful conclusion.
35–50 min
Visual exploration
Use the visual lab to explore sample size, natural variation, bias and uncertainty.
50–65 min
Worked examples
Apply the ideas to university, health and survey examples.
65–75 min
Practice and reflection
Practise writing careful statistical explanations and complete the quiz.
What you should master
By the end, you should be able to explain the whole chain.
Define statistics in your own words.
Distinguish population from sample.
Distinguish parameter from statistic.
Explain why samples create uncertainty.
Explain why bias is different from random variation.
Write a careful statistical conclusion.