Bringing order to sets of data is one of the key objectives of statistics. For this to happen we need to process the data, producing useful information about aspects of our lives. This section is about making sense of collections of data. It looks at some of the most important processes that data are put through.

From a simple example of summing data, the section moves through the ways we look at measures of central tendency within data sets, ending up at the more complex theme of the normal distribution curve and its properties.

There are four main areas of this section and you can access them at any time using the navigation bar on the left. The four sections are:

• Explanation - a guide to statistical analysis, summing and summarising data and the normal distribution curve
• Illustration - illustrations of a variety of statistical techniques including central tendency, weighted averages, measures of dispersion, normal distribution curves and confidence intervals
• Worksheets - a range of worksheets on central tendency and dispersion and index numbers
• Review - a brief summary of the topics covered in the 'processing' section and a final activity on normal distribution