How are descriptive statistics and inferential statistics used differently in data analysis? What is an example of each?
What will be an ideal response?
Ans: Descriptive statistics are used to describe people, whereas inferential statistics are used to test a study hypothesis. An example of a descriptive statistic would be the mean age of the clients in the Mental Health Treatment Program for my agency or the proportion of them who are male and female. Some of the examples of inferential statistic are chi-square, the paired t test, the independent t test, the one sample t test, and the analysis of variance. There are many more. When the statistic is used to test the hypothesis, you would be looking at two questions: Did the data go in the hypothesized direction, and were the data statistically significant?
Learning Objective: 16-2: Identify descriptive statistics that you can use to describe variables based on their level of measurement. | 16-3: Identify the questions you must answer to select a statistic for testing your study hypothesis.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Using Descriptive Statistics to Describe People | Using Inferential Statistics to Test Your Hypothesis in Explanatory Research
Difficulty Level: Medium
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