Descriptive Statistics - Essay Example

Research often focus on a fraction of a population and applies results for objectives such as understanding characteristics of variables or relationships between variables in the population segment or an entire population. Developed figures, on used samples are known as statistics and are classified as either descriptive or inferential statistics, and this paper explains differences between the two.

I would explain the difference between differential statistics and inferential statistics through their roles in a study and the types of information that they offer. Descriptive statistics plays a diagnostic role in a study through summarizing features of data. Its role is, therefore, limited to a studied sample and helps in identifying features and trends in data. In addition, descriptive statistics can be used as a basis for exploration of inferential statistics while inferential statistics cannot be a basis for developing descriptive statistics in a study. Inferential statistics, however, aims at investigating probability of occurrence of values. With reference to types of data, descriptive statistics reports actual values of sample data while inferential statistics reports probable values. In addition, descriptive statistics are values while inferential statistics are methods towards generalization of statistics over a population (Vogt, W., Gardner, Haeffele, & Vogt, E., 2014).

Mean, a measure of central tendency, is an example of descriptive statistics and I selected it because of its common use in research. Even in inferential, it is often applied in describing data. Test of hypothesis is an example of inferential statistics and I choose it because of its common application in testing significance of variables and associations for generalization. The study by Kelloway, Turner, Barling, and Loughlin (2012) illustrates these examples.