Statistics and mathematics:

Statistics and mathematics are my favorite subjects, mathematics involves multiplication, subtraction, division and squares and to me these type of sums are simple and will only require one to remember the formulas, The following are some of the areas I am confident in and those that I may face problems in the course.

Negative and positive number:

For positive and negative numbers multiplication and addition I am well equipment and will be able to accomplish such tasks, example -2 X 2 = -4, another example -3 X -3 = 9, a positive number multiplied by a negative number will result into a negative answer whereas multiplying a negative number by a negative number will yield a positive number. On the other hand division will result into the same results. Division of a negative by a positive number will yield a negative answer while the division of a negative number by a negative number will yield a positive answer.

Regarding the addition and subtraction of positive and negative numbers I will be in a position to accomplish these tasks, example – 2 + 2 = 0, -2 -2 = -4,another example is +5 – 10, this means we move ten units toward the left on the number line and therefore the answer will be -5.

Square root:

Finding the square root of a number is simple, also finding the square of a number is quite

Statistics and mathematics

simple, for example finding the square of the number 4 will simply be 4 X 4 = 16. however for large numbers the simplest way is to find the logarithm of the number and multiplying the results by two, for example finding the square of 10, the simplest way to do this is to find the log of this number as follows, log 10 = 1, multiply the result by 2 and the result is 2, the next step is to find the antilog of the number 2 and the result is 100. For square root the same steps apply only that in this case the log value of the number is divided by 2. the log formula to find square root and square also applied to higher value such as X to the power of 6 i.e. X6 .

My greatest problem in mathematics is that it is sometimes difficult to be accurate, also the problem of speed whereby exams have time limits and this may affect my grade, this happens whereby given a certain time frame I may not complete tasks on time. However I plan on resolving these issues by completing more exercises and sums in order to improve my speed and accuracy.

Statistics involves the collection, analyzing and interpretation of data sets. The first step involves the collection of data using the various statistical techniques such as telephone interviews, face to face interview, observation and questionnaires. Before collection of data is undertaken due to limitation of time and resources a sample is selected, the sample can be random based or non random based. The challenges I may face in this step is that preparations of these tools such as questionnaires which may contain biased questions and therefore collected data may be biased, I plan on improving this by examining previously prepared questionnaires.

The other important issue in statistics is hypothesis testing, hypothesis testing involves the formulation of a research question and stating the null hypothesis and alternative hypothesis, my greatest problem will be which table whether the Z table, T table or Chi square table to use when testing a certain hypothesis. I however expect to resolve this problem by consulting my fellow class mates and through research.

Statistics and mathematics


Bachman and Paternoster (2009) Statistical Methods for Criminology and Criminal Justice, New York: McGraw Hill press.