The Post Graduate Department of Commerce in association with the Student Welfare Cell organized a Bridge Session on ‘Descriptive Statistics’ for M.Com Part I & II students on August 17, 2024, in the Smart Classroom from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. The resource person for the session was Ms. Yugandhara Joshi, Assistant Professor in Mathematics. The primary goal of the session was to familiarize 21 students (7 male, 14 female) with essential techniques for summarizing and analysing data, thereby bridging the knowledge gap between the courses taught in B.Com and M.Com programmes, particularly in Marketing Research, Research Methodology, and Econometrics.
Ms. Valencia Baptista, Asst. Prof., M.Com programme and member of the Student Welfare Cell welcomed the students, introduced the Resource person and gave a brief overview of the significance of the session.
Ms. Yugandhara commenced the session by discussing the significance of descriptive statistics in data analysis. She explained that measures of central tendency are statistical tools used to identify the central or typical value within a dataset. The session covered key measures such as the ‘Mean’ which represents the average value, the ‘Median’ which identifies the middle value and the ‘Mode’ which shows the most frequent value in the dataset. Additionally, the session discussed Quartiles, Percentiles, and Deciles, which divide the data into specific parts, allowing for a more detailed understanding of the distribution. The second part of the session focused on Measures of Dispersion, which describe the spread or variability within a dataset. The session introduced important concepts like the ‘Range’ which gives the difference between the maximum and minimum values, ‘Standard Deviation’ which measures the average deviation from the mean and ‘Variance’ which quantifies the overall data spread and Coefficient of Variation which facilitates comparison of consistency between two data sets. Further, the session discussed ‘Skewness’ which indicates the asymmetry of the distribution, and ‘Kurtosis’ which provides insights into the tails and peak of the distribution, highlighting the presence of outliers.
The session concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Vaibhav Girap, student of M.Com Part II, who expressed gratitude to Ms. Yugandhara Joshi for her valuable insights and engaging session on Descriptive Statistics.
Expected Outcome of the Activity:
The Bridge Session on ‘Descriptive Statistics’ is expected to enhance students’ understanding of key statistical concepts, bridging the gap between their B.Com and M.Com coursework. With these skills, they will be better equipped to analyze and understand data, important for their research and future careers. This basic knowledge will also get them ready for more advanced courses of M.Com like Marketing Research, Research Methodology, and Econometrics.
