WHEN TO USE

DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS
When to use descriptive Statistics
 Descriptive statistics are the
appropriate analyses when the goal of
the research is to present the
participants’ responses to survey items
in order to address the research
questions.
 There are NO HYPOTHESES in
descriptive statistics.
 You cannot (statistically) infer results
with descriptive statistics.
When to use descriptive Statistics

 Descriptivestatistics include:
A. frequencies and percentages for
categorical (ordinal and nominal)
data;
B. averages (means, medians, and/or
ranges); and
C. standard deviations for continuous
data.
 Mean
describe the average unit for a
continuous item;
 Standard Deviations
describe the spread of those
units in reference to the mean.
Inferential
 parametric and
 Non-parametric statistics
Inferential
It is conducted when the goal of
the research is to :
1. draw conclusions about the
statistical significance of the
relationships
2. differences among variables of
interest.
 Descriptivestatistics are appropriate
when the research questions ask
questions similar to the following:
1) What is the percentage of X,
Y, and Z participants?
2) How long have X, Y, and Z
participants been in a certain
group/category?
▪ What are, or describe, the factors of
X?
▪ What is the average of variable Y?
▪ How much do X participants agree
about a certain topic?
▪ What are, or describe, the
similarities and/or differences on a
certain topic by group/category?
 Example:
a study was conducted on a group
of college students about specific
courses offered, where the
questions had “check all that apply”
responses.
 The study’s research question
asked “What courses offered to
college students are most
prevalent?”
 Writing a quantitative research question
 Formulating a quantitative research
question can often be a difficult
task.
 When composing a research question,
a researcher needs to determine if
they want to describe data,
 Writing a quantitative research question
 compare differences among
groups,
 assess a relationship, or
 determine if a set of variables
predict another variable.
 The type of question the researcher
asks will help to determine the type of
statistical analysis that needs to be
conducted.
 It is also important to consider what
specific variables need to be assessed
when writing a research question.
 The researcher must be certain all
variables are quantifiable, or
measurable.

 Measuring variables can be as simple

as having participants report their
age or as involved as having
participants answer survey questions
that make up a reliable instrument.
Some examples of different types
of research questions are
presented:
 Descriptive:
 Describe the teachers’
perceptions of the newly
implemented reading assessment
program.
 The goal of a descriptive research
question is to describe the data.
 The researcher cannot infer any
conclusions from this type of
analysis; it simply presents data.
 Descriptive:
 Descriptive questions do not have
corresponding null and alternative
hypotheses because the
researcher is not making
inferences.
 Descriptive studies can be
conducted on categorical or
continuous data.
 Comparative:
 Are there differences in students’
grades by gender (male vs.
female)?
 Are there differences in job level
(entry vs. mid vs. executive) by
gender (male vs. female)?
 Comparative:
 Comparative questions can be
assessed using a continuous
variable and a categorical
grouping variable, as well as with
two categorical grouping
variables.
 They type of analysis will vary
depending on the types of data.
 Relationship:
 Is there a relationship between
age and fitness level?
 Is there a relationship between
ice cream sales and
temperature at noon?
 Note:
 Questions that assess
relationships do not require a
definitive independent and
dependent variable, but two
variables are required;
 Relationship:
 they can be considered variables
of interest as opposed to
independent and dependent
variables.
 Data used for this type of analysis
can be dichotomous, ordinal, or
continuous. They type of analysis
will vary depending on the types
of data.
 Predictive:
 Do age, gender, and education
predict income?
 Does a pitcher’s ERA predict
the number of wins the team
has?
 Predictive questions have a
definitive independent and
dependent variable.
 Typically, the independent variable
should be continuous or
dichotomous, but nominal and
ordinal variables can be used.
Standard Deviation

❑Standard Deviation is commonly known as the

measure of the “spread of data”.

❑The standard deviation is the measure of on

average how close the data is to the mean.
❑So if the Standard Deviation is small then values in the
data are close to the mean
❑If the standard deviation is big then the data is more
spread out.
❑ If the Standard Deviation is high
❑ Greater spread of results
❑ Results vary more (more varied)
❑ Less consistent

❑ If the Standard Deviation is low

❑ Results are less spread out
❑ Vary less (less varied)
❑ More consistent
Standard Deviation

1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,
Approx 11
1
1, 105, 400, 1000,
21000 Approx 2.3

5, 10, 15, 20, 25 Approx 7

90, 91, 92, 92, 93,

Approx. 8000
93
80,81, 82, 90, 100,
110, 130 0
❑IMPORTANCE OF STANDARD DEVIATION
❑ The standard deviation is an important metric
in statistical analysis. Some of the reasons for this
include:
❑It includes all observations.
❑ One good thing about bias is that every piece of
data is taken into account in the research. Other
ways to measure deviation, like range, only look at
the far-apart points and don’t consider the places
in the middle. Because of this, the standard
deviation is often seen as a more accurate and
reliable way to measure than other data.
❑IMPORTANCE OF STANDARD DEVIATION
❑ It can be used in combination.
❑ Using a certain method, the standard deviations of
two sets of data can be added together. There are no
methods like this for other observational measures of
dispersion in statistics. Also, unlike other ways of
observing, it can be used in other math calculations.
❑ It tells us when a set is unequally distributed.
❑ Deviance is very beneficial when determining how
unevenly your data set is distributed. It not only tells
you the breadth of your data but also its unequal
distribution.
❑IMPORTANCE OF STANDARD DEVIATION
❑ It supports mathematical and statistical analysis.
❑ The standard deviation value is always set and well-
defined, allowing for both mathematical and
statistical analysis.
❑ It enables us to determine the risk of an investment.
❑ The number of data points that depart from the
mean can be used to calculate an investment’s risk.
❑ The greater the deviation from the mean, the more
risky the investment.