CERTIFICATE IN STATISTICS PROGRAM

The program of Certificate in Statistics combines intensive classroom lectures with field work and practical training in data collection and analysis. The program is designed to train manpower suitable to work as middle-level statistical technicians for improving the statistical system in Liberia. It is suitable to persons already employed or those aspiring for such appointments in statistical offices of various ministries and agencies of the Government of Liberia as well as within the private sector.

Course Description

Cest 101 - Basic Mathematics

Concepts of variables, functions, notations, symbols, and their solutions; equation - linear in one and two variables and quadratic; special functions - exponential and geometric; logarithm, its uses and applications; arithmethic and harmonic progressions; permutations, combinations and binomial, exponential and logarithmic expansions.

Cest 102 - Methods of Data Collection

Introduction to methods of data collection - primary, secondary, and tertiary data; methods - observational - structured and unstructured questionnaire; types of interview and questionnaire administration; projective and other indirect methods of data collection; techniques of interviewing; Sources of Data -Census or complete enumeration, registration system, simple surveys and official records; their advantages and disadvantages.

Cest 103 - Official Statistics and Statistical Organization in Liberia

Development of official statistics in Liberia, legal status of statistics and statistical organizations in Liberia; compilation and publication of statistics, status of official statistics and its problems in different Ministries and Agencies of the Government of Liberia. Contents of official statistics collected in Liberia, Methods of Data Collection and Processing used by different Agencies and Ministries.

Cest 104 - Descriptive Statistics

The scope of statistics attribute and variable - measures and scales; presentation of data - grouping of statistical data, preparation of dummy tables, quantitative and qualitative groups; preparation of simple and cumulative frequency distributions; graphic presentation of data bar and .composite bar and pie charts, histograms, frequency polygons ogives; measures and central tendency - arithmetic, geometric and harmonic means; mode, median and other partition values such as quartiles, deciles and percent lies; measures of variation Range; quartile, mean and standard deviations; uses of different measures - skewness and kurtosis, etc.

Cest 106 - Elementary Probability and Statistics

Elementary Idea of probability, theorems of total and compound probability, concepts of statistical independence expectations, repeated trials; blnominals, positive and negative binominal distributions, normal distribution and its role in statistical analysis; concept of sampling distribution, sample values and population parameters, application of common sampling distributions such as F, t and Chi-square, confidence interval, simple tests of significance, biased and unbiased estimates.

Cest 106 - Population Statistics
Pre-requisite: Cest 104

Population Statistics: Rates, ratios and population growth rates; crude birth and age-sex specific death rates; Infant mortality rates; concepts of life table and expectation of life at birth, and inter-relationship between columns of life table (no construction of life table); volume and rate of migration, etc. Health Statistics: Concepts of incidence and prevalence rates fatality rate Indices for expressing health facilities, neonatal death rate, still birth, abortion, and miscarriage rates early neo-natal and perinatal mortality rates, etc.

Cest 107 - Economic, Industrial, Manpower and Labour Statistics
Pre-requisite: Cest 104

Economic Statistics: - lndex numbers, time series analysis, elementary Idea of national Income and national accounts, foreign and domestic trade statistics; Industrial Statistics Preparation of quality control Charts for proportion and average; Manpower and Labour Statistics: Crude and general activity rates, sex-specific activity rate, age-sex specific activity rate, dependency ratio measures of employment, study of labour mobility by use of balancing equation, and simple concept of working Iife tables.