First of all, congratulations on your admission to the Statistics course that you have acquired excelling over the thousands of applicants. Indeed it is a prestigious and a much sought after subject. Very few get a chance to the best colleges or universities. I understand this because I have been through this.
After giving numerous admission tests and undergoing so many interviews, I finally ended up in one of the most prestigious universities in the country. But to find what – Statistics just didn’t make any sense to me! If you are afraid of the Chi-square, p-values,? 2, t-tests and so many other Statistics factors, you are not alone!
Many students of this subject, just like you, take sporadic attempts to get used to this much-revered subject that can technically fetch you a great job opportunity in future. But, have you really understood what it needs to become a better Statistician?
Before you get into the tips to become a better Statistician, there are a few things that you must have a clear concept of.
Statistics – the basics:
The basics start with the concept of descriptive Statistics and the measures of central tendency. The three terms that you will frequently come across and that you should know in details are –
- Mean
- Median
- Mode
There are guidebooks, handbooks of this subject and online classes or papers that explain these in details. If you want to clear your doubts and learn Statistics in details, you should hire the professionals. There are professional tutors ad academicians, who help students like you in every step of their learning process.
What do you have to do?
Most students of Statistics stay confused regarding what they actually have to do. To answer that, I would briefly say that you have to do MANY things at a time. It is not just analyzing data. There are a number of steps to reach your inference finally.
- Describe: In this step, you will have to describe the Statistical intervals, graphics and correlation coefficients.
- Compare and test: At this stage, you need to use hypothesis tests to detect the reference values and Statistical population. You will also need to compare the covariance and analyze the variance.
- Identify and classify: You will need to use descriptive Statistics to classify groups of entities, graphics, Statistical tests and multivariate techniques.
- Predict: Prediction needs to be done using various techniques and these include neural networks, regression, modeling techniques of time-series and spatial data interpolation.
- Explain: Discriminant analysis, cluster analysis, regression, data mining techniques, factor analysis, etc., methods are used to explain a phenomenon.
Tips to be better at Statistics:
Now, you know the basics of this subject, and what you are expected to do with it, it is now time to know about the better learning processes and tips. These include –
- Attend every class, especially in the first month:
This is very important. Most of the students miss their classes in the first month as they fail to cope with the course and find it boring or uninteresting to proceed further. This gets them even more behind than other classmates. Hence, it is a must that you attend every class, especially the ones that take place in the first month of the start of your course. It is from these classes that all basics, rules, principles, and concepts are explained and taught.
- Read carefully:
Most students of Statistics do not take this tip seriously and end up being confused about what they are supposed to do with a Statistical problem. However, it is a must to understand that read a Statistical problem is unlike reading a novel or story book or even a maths problem. It is imperative that you read time and again, slowly and deliberately, so that you can grasp each word.
- Do your homework and projects:
You might not be very willing to do loads of projects and assignments of Statistics. But, it is a must that you do them and that too, on time. Projects, assignments, and homework are part of your coursework, and they are designed to help you understand how well you have learned and where you are lacking. Never procrastinate and always complete your tasks on time.
- Put your effort on concepts:
Though learning the rules, fundamentals and principles are quite crucial; you do not need to memorize them. Even if you forget them, you can always look up to the textbooks for these rules and principles. What matters, even more, is that your concept is clear. The more you read, the variety of problems you solve, the clearer will be your concept. This is very important for becoming a successful Statistician.
As you complete your studies and get into the real world of work, you will need this experience and knowledge of concepts. You will not get conceptual studies in every book and hence, this must be developed with practice. It will help you to achieve the feat that you desire.
While practicing, you can always consult with the workbooks that come with your textbooks. These have numerous problems that you can solve. Always clear your doubts from your teachers while solving these problems. Skipping a problem is not a good idea as your aim is to learn new concepts.
- Take professional help:
As we are talking about developing concepts, professional online help comes in the conversation automatically. There are situations when you will not be able to solve your Statistical problems on your own.
In fact, there will be situations, where you will need to prepare yourself for an upcoming examination. This might make it quite difficult to focus on a project.
At this stage, the professionals are very helpful. They can clear your doubts, complete a project on your behalf, solve problems and send your study materials on any given topic that you want, with proper details. This is quite helpful as you will not have to rush to your teachers after every class or approach your seniors for help. You will do well in your Statistical studies anyway.