Retail Trade Forms a Key Element for Any Economy The Economy

Question: How Retail Trade Forms A Key Element for Economy The Economy ? Answer: Introduction Retail trade forms a key element for any economy including the Australian economy. As a result, the article which corresponds to reporting of the same for January 2017 has been selected. The article not only contains data about retail trade for the month of January but also presents various data in the form of a time series which enables the reader to put the observations in perspective. Also, the various factors that have contributed to the retail trade figure recorded in the article have also been briefly highlighted. The objective of the given essay is to focus on the use of various statistical techniques associated with data summarization and presentation along with highlighting any potential improvements. Analysis The given data has been researched by CBA or Commonwealth Bank of Australia with the aid of various primary sources. Since the article contains only numeric data which has a well defined zero, hence the appropriate data type applicable to the given case is ratio. With regards to representation of the selected data both graphical methods and narratives have been mixed so as to deliver optimum information in the least possible space (Flick, 2015). In summarizing any given data which highlights values at different time, a graphical representation would be most suited to draw comparisons and conclusions in an easy manner. As a result, the time series of the retail data representing the value of retail trade on a monthly basis of the previous years, a graphical illustration has been used which reflects a large amount of data in a convenient and interpretable manner. Also, the article selected has extensive use of descriptive data as the focus is to summarize and represent the data already available. This is nt limited not only to the use of various measures of central tendency such as average but also encompasses use of various techniques in order to explore the association between dependent and independent variables. The use of inferential statistics is not required in the given article as the objective is not on drawing inferences but rather representing the available information in the most concise yet informative manner (Erik sson Kovalainen, 2015). The concept of variation has been extensively used as the retail trade data is based on the same. This is apparent from the fact that it essentially denotes the change from the value in the previous month expressed in percentage terms. The given article tends to represent a host of these percentage values since the monthly values from the previous years have also been stated so as to foster better understanding of the data in a particular context. With regards to the central tendency, the growth rate over the last ten years has been indicated. In deriving the various relation between certain variables of interest, the descriptive statistics have been used as the objective is not to develop an all encompassing theoretical model but only explanation for the current month based on the available data for relevant independent variables identified through literature review (Hastie, Tibshirani Friedman, 2011). It would have been better it the current brief at the end could have offered some futuristic perspective aiming at the next quarter or so. It is possible to assume reasonable accuracy over such a short term. Besides, it would have been better If along with goods and services, the trend of a few significant goods could have been captured which would reflect on the contributory factors and enhance future prediction for the users (Flick, 2015). Summary The article selected focused on representation of the data concerning the retail data for the month of January in the year 2017. However, to allow the readers to make the sense of the data the same has been represented in the form of a time series so as to allow making key conclusions. The data type deployed in ratio with extensive use of graphs for presentation a summary picture of the relevant data facilitating not only comparison with past values but a movement witnessed in various states also. The article involves wide usage of various descriptive statistics as the key objective is to represent the available data rather than to draw any conclusions about any population. Also, there has been wide usage of variation with the retail trade itself being measured in % terms using variation from previous month. Additional information regarding future values would enhance the utility of the given document and thus should be considered. References Eriksson, P. Kovalainen, A. (2015).Quantitative methods in business research (3rded.). London: Sage Publications. Flick, U. (2015).Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research project (4thed.). New York: Sage Publications. Hair, J. F., Wolfinbarger, M., Money, A. H., Samouel, P., Page, M. J. (2015).Essentials of business research methods (2nded.). New York: Routledge. Hastie, T., Tibshirani, R. Friedman, J. (2011).The Elements of Statistical Learning (4thed.).New York: Springer Publications.