History and Development of Statistics, Business Mathematics & Statistics | Business Mathematics and Statistics - B Com PDF Download

Introduction to Statistics
Statistics play a very vital role in any domain. It helps in collecting data, be it in any field. Along with that, it also helps in analyzing data using statistical techniques. Speaking of the present time, it has a lot of importance and application. Furthermore, if we talk about the examples, here they are.
The government uses statistics to conduct planning in the economic sector. A businessman looks forward to expanding his growth in the business world by taking into the account the data and feedback. Similarly, politics makes use of statistics to show their accomplishments. For showing research papers, scholars use statistic. Therefore, the list and applications of statistics are endless.

History
Statistics is a very well-known term in the history, be it ancient or medieval. However, there are still a few unanswered questions. One such question is – “origin of the word ‘statistics’.” There are several views related to the same. One such view is that it has a Latin origin and the word that it comes from is ‘status.’
On the contrary, another view speaks of its Italian origin and that it comes from ‘statista.’ According to scholars, the origin is German and the word it comes from is ‘statistik.’ Similarly, according to more suggestion, the origin is traced back to a French word called ‘statistique.’
In the past, statistics was all about “collection” of data. Also, the goal was to maintain the data for the welfare of the everyone in the area. According to various calculations, there were several predictions that led to one or the other answer.

What is Statistics?
Statistics can come forward in two ways: singular and plural. In plural form, statistics is quantitative as well as qualitative. In the plural sense, data is generally taken into account keeping in mind the statistical analysis.
Singularly, it is more like a scientific method that helps in presenting, collecting, as well as analyzing data. All of this brings some major characteristics into the limelight.
Statistics – Application
Here are some of the applications of statistics in different fields.

Business Management
Nobody really remembers the days when the manager was responsible for making all the major decisions. There were several techniques used like trial and error and many more. In the present time, several quantitative methods are used for drawing inferences. Another component of statistics is the statistical decision.

Economics
Economics have statistical roots. More so, there is a big association between statistics and economics. Some of the major areas that overlap with economics and statistic are Index Numbers, Demand Analysis, Time series analysis, and so on. The branch of economics that makes close interaction with statistics is called Econometrics.
Different methods of statistic are generally used for conducting surveys and analyzing data. One of the primary use of statistic is in the field of Regression analysis. It plays a major role in the world of economics as well. Regression analysis helps in projecting the future demands of various goods and sales. All of them help in economic profit and growth.

Statistics in Commerce and Growth
The business world is all set to expand itself using the best possible statistical processes. Several things like wages, salaries, raw materials, etc need to be the best in order to maximize the profit. Collection and consultations with experts are the pre-requisites that ensure that profit comes directly into the bag.
Some of the important statistical methods in the field are sampling, series analysis, statistical quality control, and so on.

Limitations
Limitations come a lot before directly applying the statistical methods. It is necessary to be aware of it in order to move ahead. Some of the primary limitations of statistics are:

• Statistics is all about “aggregates.” Be it an individual or a statistician, they are all a part of the aggregate.
• It also deals with quantitative data. However, it is not a very difficult task to do a conversion from qualitative to quantitative. All that is needed is the numerics and description related to the qualitative data.
• In order to propose specific projections, i.e. sales, price, quantity and so on, there is a requirement of a set of conditions. So, if, by any chance, these conditions turn out to be wrong or are violated, there is a chance that the projections and its outcome will be inaccurate.
• Statistical inferences make use of random sampling options. Hence, not following the rules for sampling would be a very bad idea as it can lead to wrong results. The conclusions coming off would have errors. So, the idea here is to consult the experts before hopping into the sampling scheme, directly.

Solved Questions on Introduction to Statistics
Question: What are the different branches of statistics?
Answer: Basically, there are two branches of statistics. They are – Descriptive and Inferential. Here is a brief knowledge of both of the branches.

• Descriptive: This branch deals with the basic and major aspects related to numerics. The numerics and data contain graphs, tables, and many more quantities. These quantities help with serving information.
• Inferential: This branch deals with making inferences about the large data group. The knowledge for making inferences generally comes from samples. Sample evidence brings out inferences.

This concludes our discussion on the topic of introduction to statistics.