Introduction
Data is a critical component of solving any problem a person may encounter. It is precious and helps make decisions on any topic, but without statistics, it will not make sense (Crash Course, 2018). Such a discipline is essential in almost every science due to the opportunities it gives. Statistics uses two main tools to acquire appropriate answers to its questions: descriptive, the one that describes and summarizes the data, and inferential, which, based on the sample, determines the characteristics of larger groups.
Comparison of Descriptive and Inferential Statistics
The researchers usually have to ask questions that can be approached using statistics, and descriptive and inferential statistics are tools to obtain appropriate answers. Descriptive statistics describe and summarize the collected data, identifying crucial characteristics, properties, and tendencies such as the median and average value (Singh, 2018). Descriptive statistics are used when it is necessary to summarize the data and draw conclusions based on it.
Inferential statistics uses information from samples, which are random subsets of people. It draws conclusions about the general population and provides an assessment of the probability that the idea presented in the hypothesis is effective (Singh, 2018). It is a much broader discipline, which allows for concluding larger groups based on the relatively small amount of data collected. In scientific research, descriptive statistics manifests itself as charts and tables presenting the results of the work. In contrast, inferential statistics are expressed in the form of predictions or probability estimates.
Conclusion
In conclusion, statistics is a valuable discipline that makes sense of data. It has two tools to answer questions correctly: descriptive and inferential. Descriptive statistics determine the characteristics and essential properties that enable credible conclusions and are beneficial. Inferential statistics is broader; it is effective in working with samples. Additionally, it provides conclusions about broad groups of people and is used to assess the likelihood.
References
Crash Course (2018). What is statistics: crash course statistics.
Singh, S. (2018). Statistics: descriptive and inferential.