Statistikken

Statistikken is the definite form of the word statistics in Norwegian and Danish, and is often used to refer to the discipline as a whole as well as the data produced by it. Statistics is the scientific field that deals with collecting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data.

Core concepts include population and sample, variables, and data types (qualitative versus quantitative; nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio scales). Descriptive statistics summarize data with measures such as the mean, median, and mode, as well as measures of spread, and through tables and graphs to reveal patterns.

Inferential statistics use data from a sample to make inferences about a larger population. Methods include estimation, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, regression, correlation, and analysis of variance. Data collection methods include censuses, surveys, experiments, and observational studies.

Statistikken has wide-ranging applications in government, business, science, health, and journalism. It has evolved from early methods of data collection and probability to modern computational statistics, with historical contributions from figures such as Adolphe Quetelet, Francis Galton, Karl Pearson, and Ronald Fisher shaping tools and standards for rigor.

Contemporary practice emphasizes data quality, ethics, privacy, and transparency. Statistics intersects with data science and machine learning, providing probabilistic foundations and uncertainty quantification that support evidence-based decision making.