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Course Notes - Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Course Notes - Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Course Notes - Department of Mathematics and Statistics

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TypesDiscrete - can put in one-to-one correspondence with the countingnumbers.Continuous - can be expressed on a continuous scale in whichevery value is possible.Categorical - restricted to one <strong>of</strong> a set <strong>of</strong> categories. For example‘Heads’ or ‘Tails’.R<strong>and</strong>om variables notationNotation Represented by upper case Roman lettersLower case Roman letter represents the observed value.Pr(X = x) means ‘the probability that the r<strong>and</strong>om variableX takes the value x.e.g., Pr(X = 1.2).R<strong>and</strong>om variables described by probability distributions.Observed values <strong>of</strong> r<strong>and</strong>om variables are data.Statistic• A statistic is a numerical summary <strong>of</strong> data.• An estimate is a special kind <strong>of</strong> statistic used as an intelligentguess for a parameter.- Usually denote an estimate by a circumflex: ˆµ is an estimate<strong>of</strong> µ.- Remember ˆµ is statistic <strong>and</strong> an estimate, µ is a parameter.Model• A model is a mathematical description <strong>of</strong> the data generatingmechanism.- Expressed in terms <strong>of</strong> parameters <strong>and</strong> r<strong>and</strong>om variables.13

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