Asked by Tiffany Parker on Jun 09, 2024
Verified
Discuss descriptive statistics and what they reveal to a researcher. Give an example of when each type of statistic would be most useful.
Descriptive Statistics
Statistical methods that summarize and organize the characteristics of a set of data, using measures such as mean, median, mode, and standard deviation.
Researcher
An individual who conducts scientific studies in order to advance knowledge in a particular field, often through experiments, observations, and data analysis.
- Grasp the basics of descriptive statistics and their utility in research.
Verified Answer
BT
bhargavi tulasi uppuluriJun 10, 2024
Final Answer :
A good answer would include the following key points:
-Descriptive statistics are summaries of measurements, such as the mean, median, and mode. They reveal patterns such as the average score on a measure, the middle score, or the most frequently occurring score. For example, the mean is the average of the scores, whereas the mode is the most frequent score.
-If a researcher wanted to know how a group of respondents performed on a test, she or he would probably examine the mean. However, if there were outliers-students who did very well or very poorly-that would affect the computation of the mean, and the median and mode might be consulted instead.
-In addition to the mode, median, and mean, the standard deviation reveals how scattered or spread out the scores are in the overall distribution. A large standard deviation indicates that there is a lot of variability in the responses of the research participants.
-Descriptive statistics are summaries of measurements, such as the mean, median, and mode. They reveal patterns such as the average score on a measure, the middle score, or the most frequently occurring score. For example, the mean is the average of the scores, whereas the mode is the most frequent score.
-If a researcher wanted to know how a group of respondents performed on a test, she or he would probably examine the mean. However, if there were outliers-students who did very well or very poorly-that would affect the computation of the mean, and the median and mode might be consulted instead.
-In addition to the mode, median, and mean, the standard deviation reveals how scattered or spread out the scores are in the overall distribution. A large standard deviation indicates that there is a lot of variability in the responses of the research participants.
Learning Objectives
- Grasp the basics of descriptive statistics and their utility in research.