John Wiley & Sons TI-83 User Manual download pdf (Page 4)

Chapter

Introduction

Use of Technology

Statistics is a field that deals with sets of data. After the data is collected it needs to be organized

and interpreted. There is a limit to how much of the work can be done effectively without the

help of some type of technology. The use of technology, such as a calculator with enhanced

statistical functions can take care of most of the details of our work so that we can spend more

time focusing on what we are doing and how to interpret the results.

Technology can help us not only to store and manipulate data, but also to visualize what the data

is trying to tell us. As we work with a calculator, we will be able to:

• Enter, revise, and store data.

• Perform statistical computations on stored data or entered statistics.

• Draw pictures, based on the data to help us to understand what useful information can be

inferred from that data.

Advantages of Using a Calculator

There are many good statistical software packages available, such as MINITAB, SAS, and

SPSS. Excel also contains many statistical built-in functions as well as supporting plug-in’s for

statistical work. Still, for the student starting to learn statistics, it’s hard to beat the advantages of

using a powerful hand-held calculator.

• It is portable and easy to use in many different work environments.

• It has battery power that lasts far longer than that of a laptop computer.

• It is less expensive than a computer.

• It is less expensive than a statistical software package.

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John Wiley & Sons TI-83 User Manual Page 4