Characteristics of Data

A population is the group of individuals or objects that is the focus of a study

A census is when information is gathered from an entire population

A sample is a selection of individuals taken from a population

A cross-sectional study considers individuals from different groups at the same time. A longitudinal study considers individuals over a period of time. Time series data is data accumulated over a long period of time.

Discrete data is data that can be described using integers. Continuous data cannot be measured with only integers.