Café Data

Abstract

In this paper we present time series data collected from a café run by business students at a Midwestern public university. The data were collected over a ten-week period during the spring semester of 2010. These data can be used in introductory courses to illustrate basic concepts of time series and forecasting, including trend, seasonality, and the use of time series decomposition. Since the data relate to a student-run enterprise, we believe that statistics students, especially those in business disciplines, will find the application interesting and engaging. In addition to exercises in which students can perform statistical analyses, we also provide several examples in which the data and results are related to the business context, thereby showing the relevance and importance of data-driven business decisions.

• Time series
• Forecasting
• Trend
• Decomposition
• Regression
• Correlation