Types of Statistics

Statistics is a general, broad term, so it's natural that under that umbrella there exist a number of different models.

Mean

A mean is the mathematical average of a group of two or more numerals. The mean for a specified set of numbers can be computed in multiple ways, including the arithmetic mean, which shows how well a specific commodity performs over time, and the geometric mean, which shows the performance results of an investor’s portfolio invested in that same commodity over the same period.

Regression Analysis

Regression analysis determines the extent to which specific factors such as interest rates, the price of a product or service, or particular industries or sectors influence the price fluctuations of an asset. This is depicted in the form of a straight line called linear regression.

Skewness

Skewness describes the degree a set of data varies from the standard distribution in a set of statistical data. Most data sets, including commodity returns and stock prices, have either positive skew, a curve skewed toward the left of the data average, or negative skew, a curve skewed toward the right of the data average.

Kurtosis

Kurtosis measures whether the data are light-tailed (less outlier-prone) or heavy-tailed (more outlier-prone) than the normal distribution. Data sets with high kurtosis have heavy tails, or outliers, which implies greater investment risk in the form of occasional wild returns. Data sets with low kurtosis have light tails, or lack of outliers, which implies lesser investment risk.

Variance

Variance is a measurement of the span of numbers in a data set. The variance measures the distance each number in the set is from the mean. Variance can help determine the risk an investor might accept when buying an investment.

Ronald Fisher developed the analysis of variance method. It is used to decide the effect solitary variables have on a variable that is dependent. It may be used to compare the performance of different stocks over time.