Contrast descriptive and inferential statistics.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Descriptive statistics are used for researchers to familiarize themselves with patterns, trends, and frequencies in the data
• Inferential statistics enable practitioner-scholars to:
o Generalize their interpretation of quantitative data to a larger population
o Predict how variables will interact or relate
o Assess the degree to which these interactions predict outcomes
• Descriptive statistics do not allow a practitioner-scholar to do these
• Students might give examples of descriptive statistics (e.g., mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (e.g., t-test, ANOVA)
• Students might also give some descriptions of hypothesis testing or Type-I and Type-II errors, and how they relate to inferential statistics to differentiate them from descriptive statistics