Mathematics desk
< March 6	<< Feb \| March \| Apr >>	March 8 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Mathematics Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

March 7[edit]

Mathematical statistics and non-mathematical statistics[edit]

Is there a mathematical statistics opposed to a non-mathematical statistics? I fail to see how something can be not mathematical in statistics? Shouldn't the articles "Mathematical statistics" and "statistics" be merged?--Llaanngg (talk) 15:22, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

When statistics are used outside of math and science, they generally omit calculations such as confidence intervals, standard deviations, etc. Margin of error is generally the only mathematical analysis of the statistics reported, if any. Even the sample size is often not reported. So, while "statistics" in a general sense, they don't qualify as what mathematicians would call statistics. StuRat (talk) 15:29, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

That would be the difference between rigorous statistics and statistical gibberish, . Llaanngg (talk) 16:04, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I think mathematical statistics is about the mathematics related to statistics, but the practice of statistics has non-mathematical aspects. The design of opinion poll questions, for example, is not a mathematical issue. --173.49.18.106 (talk) 15:39, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

So, mathematical statistics is a part of stats (which includes many other non-math part)?--Llaanngg (talk) 16:04, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

That's my layperson's understanding. --173.49.18.106 (talk) 16:12, 7 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]