Statistics: Descriptive and

Inferential
Statistics plays a main role in the field of research. It helps us in
the collection, analysis and presentation of data. In this blog post
we will try to learn about the two main branches of statistics that is
descriptive and inferential statistics.

Statistics is concerned with developing and studying different

methods for collecting, analyzing and presenting the empirical
data.

The field of statistics is composed of two broad categories-

Descriptive and inferential statistics. Both of them give us
different insights about the data. One alone doesn’t not help us
much to understand the complete picture of our data but using
both of them together gives us a powerful tool for description and
prediction.

Before starting with descriptive and inferential statistics let us get

the basic idea of population and sample.

Population:

Population is the group that is targeted to collect the data from.

Our data is the information collected from the population.
Population is always defined first, before starting the data
collection process for any statistical study. Population is not
necessarily be people rather it could be batch of batteries,
measurements of rainfall in an area or a group of people.
Sample:

It is the part of population which is selected randomly for the

study. The sample should be selected such that it represents all the
characteristics of the population. The process of selecting the
subset from the population is called sampling and the subset
selected is called the sample.

Descriptive Statistics

It describes the important characteristics/ properties of the data

using the measures the central tendency like mean/ median/mode
and the measures of dispersion like range, standard deviation,
variance etc.

Data can be summarized and represented in an accurate way using

charts, tables and graphs.

For example: We have marks of 1000 students and we may be

interested in the overall performance of those students and the
distribution as well as the spread of marks. Descriptive statistics
provides us the tools to define our data in a most understandable
and appropriate way.
Inferential Statistics

It is about using data from sample and then making inferences

about the larger population from which the sample is drawn. The
goal of the inferential statistics is to draw conclusions from a
sample and generalize them to the population. It determines the
probability of the characteristics of the sample using probability
theory. The most common methodologies used are hypothesis
tests, Analysis of variance etc.

For example: Suppose we are interested in the exam marks of all

the students in India. But it is not feasible to measure the exam
marks of all the students in India. So now we will measure the
marks of a smaller sample of students, for example 1000 students.
This sample will now represent the large population of Indian
students. We would consider this sample for our statistical study
for studying the population from which it’s deduced.
Some differences to remember!
Data Levels of Measurement
A variable has one of four different levels of measurement: Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, or
Ratio.  

Four Different Levels of Measurement

In descending order of precision, the four different levels of measurement are:

Nominal–Latin for name only (Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian)

Ordinal–Think ordered levels or ranks (small–8oz, medium–12oz, large–32oz)

Interval–Equal intervals among levels (1 dollar to 2 dollars is the same interval as 88

dollars to 89 dollars)

Ratio–Let the “o” in ratio remind you of a zero in the scale (Day 0, day 1, day 2, day 3, …)

The first level of measurement is nominal level of measurement.  In this level of

measurement, the numbers in the variable are used only to classify the data.  In this
level of measurement, words, letters, and alpha-numeric symbols can be used.  Suppose
there are data about people belonging to three different gender categories. In this case,
the person belonging to the female gender could be classified as F, the person
belonging to the male gender could be classified as M, and transgendered classified as
T.  This type of assigning classification is nominal level of measurement.

The second level of measurement is the ordinal level of measurement.  This level of

measurement depicts some ordered relationship among the variable’s observations.
Suppose a student scores the highest grade of 100 in the class.  In this case, he would
be assigned the first rank.  Then, another classmate scores the second highest grade of
an 92; she would be assigned the second rank.  A third student scores a 81 and he
would be assigned the third rank, and so on.   The ordinal level of measurement
indicates an ordering of the measurements.
The third level of measurement is the interval level of measurement.  The interval level
of measurement not only classifies and orders the measurements, but it also specifies
that the distances between each interval on the scale are equivalent along the scale
from low interval to high interval.  For example, an interval level of measurement could
be the measurement of anxiety in a student between the score of 10 and 11, this interval
is the same as that of a student who scores between 40 and 41.   A popular example of
this level of measurement is temperature in centigrade, where, for example, the distance
between 940C and 96 0C is the same as the distance between 100 0C and 102 0C.

The fourth level of measurement is the ratio level of measurement.  In this level of
measurement, the observations, in addition to having equal intervals, can have a value
of zero as well.  The zero in the scale makes this type of measurement unlike the other
types of measurement, although the properties are similar to that of the interval level of
measurement.  In the ratio level of measurement, the divisions between the points on
the scale have an equivalent distance between them.

The researcher should note that among these levels of measurement, the nominal level
is simply used to classify data, whereas the levels of measurement described by the
interval level and the ratio level are much more exact.
 Levels of Measurement
When we talk about levels of measurement, we are talking about how we measure a variable.
Variables have 4 different levels of measurement:

1. Nominal
2. Ordinal
3. Interval
4. Ratio

These four levels of measurement fall under two broad types of variables:

1. Categorical – variables where data are grouped into categories

a. Nominal
b. Ordinal
2. Continuous/Scale – variables where data fall along a spectrum with standard intervals
a. Interval
b. Ratio

The graphic below should help you visualize the four different levels of measurement. See the
definitions and examples below for each.

Definitions and Examples

Nominal variables are categorical variables where the categories are different only because they
are named differently. We cannot rank or order the categories. Some examples include the
following: race/ethnicity, gender, eye color, or neighborhood.
Ordinal variables are categorical variables where the categories can be ordered or ranked. Some
examples include the following: class level (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior) and education
level (less than HS, HS diploma, some college, college degree).
Interval variables are continuous/scale variables with no meaningful/absolute zero. A
meaningful/absolute zero means that there is an absence of something. In an interval variable, 0 is
just another data point along the scale, it does NOT mean the absence of something. For example, 0
degrees Fahrenheit is not the absence of heat or temperature, it is just another number along the
temperature spectrum (it does mean it’s pretty cold, though).
Ratio variables are continuous/scale variables with a meaningful/absolute zero. In a ratio variable, 0
means that there is nothing there. For example, if I have 0 dollars, I have no money. If I have 0 hairs
on my head, I am bald.

Defining Variables
What is an independent variable? And what is a dependent variable? These questions
are common questions in statistical work and knowing the difference between these
types of variables is an important skill for building your understanding of statistics.
An independent variable is a variable that is presumed to cause change in another
variable (the dependent variable). The dependent variable depends on the change in
the independent variable. In theory, a change in the independent variable will lead to a
change in the dependent variable.

Real-World Examples
The rudder on a boat directs the course of the boat. By changing the position of the rudder (turning it
left or right), the rudder moves a certain way in the water, and that movement changes the trajectory
of the boat. The rudder is an example of an independent variable, while the trajectory of the boat is
an example of a dependent variable.
What about in the classroom? Suppose a teacher implements a new style of teaching with her
students to test whether students score better on a test compared to how they score while using a
different style of teaching.  In one style, the teacher only uses pictures to demonstrate a concept
whereas the other style only uses text to demonstrate a concept. If the teacher gave her students
the same test after only using text to demonstrate the concept and also after only using pictures to
demonstrate the concept, she could compare the test scores to see which method leads to better
scores. In this example, the teaching method (text vs. visual) is the independent variable and the
dependent variable is how students score on the test.