Basic knowledge of statistics

Author: Chief Editor: Zhong Xinlian
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1998-11-01
Features: This book was compiled according to the unified requirements of the Textbook Compilation and Review Committee of the Ministry of Finance. During the compilation process, we targeted the characteristics of current students in secondary financial and economic schools, based on the actual statistics reforms in China, and incorporated the essence of existing textbooks and new teaching achievements. This made the theoretical and methodological system of the textbook adapt to the requirements of establishing a socialist market economy system. In terms of content, we first introduced the basic concepts of statistics, then discussed statistical survey, statistical organization, and statistical analysis methods along the axis of the basic links of statistical work, and provided an introduction to China's national economic accounting system. This book was edited by Zhong Xinlian. The authors who participated in the compilation of this book are: Zhong Xinlian of Xianting Financial and Accounting School (Hubei) (Chapter, Chapter 9); Chen Weiqi of Fushun Financial School (Liaoning) (Chapter 2, Chapter 8); Yang Hua of Dalian Financial School (Liaoning) (Chapter 3, Chapter 6); Yan Yonghong of Hunan Financial and Accounting School (Chapter 4, Chapter 7); Kang Jinghua of Shanxi Financial and Accounting College (Chapter 5, Chapter 10). Finally, Zhong Xinlian was responsible for the overall review and finalization of the book. Due to the limited level of the compilers, errors and inaccuracies in the book are inevitable. We sincerely welcome criticism and corrections from readers. Compilers, April 1998
Excerpt:
(V) The Distinction and Connection Between Indicators and Marks
Indicators and marks have both clear distinctions and close connections.
1. The Distinction Between Indicators and Marks.
(1) Whether it is a quantitative indicator or a qualitative indicator, it must be measurable, while marks may not be measurable, and quality marks are not measurable.
(2) Indicators are used to explain the comprehensive quantitative characteristics of a population, while marks are used to explain the attributes or characteristics of individual units of a population. For example, when studying the basic conditions of industrial enterprises in a certain city, the "industrial added value" of the city is a statistical indicator, while the "industrial added value" of a specific industrial enterprise in the city is a mark. It can be seen that anything that explains the comprehensive quantitative characteristics of a population is an indicator, while anything that explains the quantitative characteristics of individual units is a mark.
(3) All statistical indicators have a comprehensive nature. They are the comprehensive differences in the values of certain quantitative marks of units in a homogeneous population. Marks generally do not have a comprehensive nature. For example, a person's height and age directly describe the height and age characteristics of that individual, while the average height and average age of everyone in the population are average numbers obtained by comprehensively summarizing the differences in height and age of each person in the population, which is a comprehensive indicator.
2. The Connection Between Indicators and Marks.
(1) The values of statistical indicators are obtained by summarizing and calculating the values of certain quantitative marks of corresponding individual units. Without the marks of individual units, there would be no values of population indicators. Moreover, the magnitude and changes in the marks of individual units will directly affect the magnitude and changes in the values of population indicators. For example, the "average wage" of employees in a certain enterprise is calculated based on the total wage of all employees in the enterprise. The amount of each employee's wage and its fluctuations directly affect the level of the enterprise's average wage.
(2) There is a transformation relationship between indicators and marks. Depending on the research purpose and tasks, an indicator can become a mark, and a mark can become a statistical indicator. This is determined by the changes in the population and individual units. If the original population becomes an individual unit due to changes in the research purpose, then the original statistical indicator will correspondingly become a mark. If the original individual unit becomes the population, then the original mark will correspondingly become a statistical indicator. For example, when studying the production and operation conditions of industrial enterprises in a certain city, each industrial enterprise in the city, including its added value and number of employees, is a mark. If our task is now to study the production and operation conditions of a specific industrial enterprise in the city, then that industrial enterprise becomes our research subject, and its added value and number of employees are statistical indicators.
V. Indicator System
Social economic phenomena always exist in various interconnections, and there are also various connections between the elements within the phenomenon. The nature of the interconnections between phenomena cannot be reflected by individual statistical indicators, because individual indicators can only indicate a specific aspect of the quantitative characteristics of the population. To systematically and comprehensively understand the phenomenon as a whole from a quantitative perspective, an indicator system must be used to describe it.
An indicator system refers to the organic integration of several interrelated and interdependent statistical indicators, forming a whole. The indicator system is a reflection of the interdependent and interrelated relationships between social economic phenomena in statistical work. Various indicator systems can be established for both macro and micro social economic phenomena.
By establishing an indicator system, we can more deeply understand the overall picture and the entire process of development of the phenomenon. We can use the indicator system to reveal the contradictions existing in the population, identify the main factors that lead to various results, and by establishing an indicator system, we can also use the relationships between indicators to calculate and predict unknown indicators based on known indicators.