Question

suppose every student in a class is surveyed and it is reported that 75% of the class plans to take another math class. is this an example of descriptive or inferential statistics? explain.

choose the correct answer below.

a. inferential statistics; the results of the class sample are described without making any generalizations about the population of all students.
b. descriptive statistics; the results of the class sample are extended to make a generalization about the population of all students at the school.
c. inferential statistics; the results of the class sample are extended to make a generalization about the population of all students at the school.
d. descriptive statistics; the results of the class sample are described without making any generalizations about the population of all students at the school.

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Descriptive vs. Inferential Statistics
Describing data vs. making predictions

Step 1: Understand the definitions

• Descriptive statistics consists of organizing, summarizing, and presenting data in a convenient, informative way. It describes the data that has actually been collected without drawing conclusions beyond that group.
• Inferential statistics consists of methods that take a result from a sample, extend it to a larger population, and measure the reliability of the result.

Step 2: Analyze the scenario

• What was done: Every student in a specific class was surveyed.
• What was reported: \( 75\% \) of this class plans to take another math class.
• Conclusion drawn: The report only states the fact about the surveyed class itself. It does not try to predict or generalize what all students at the school or in other classes will do.

Because the data is only used to summarize and describe the specific group surveyed, this is an example of descriptive statistics.

Step 3: Match with the correct option

• Option A: Incorrectly labels it as inferential statistics.
• Option B: Incorrectly states that the results are extended to make a generalization.
• Option C: Incorrectly labels it as inferential statistics.
• Option D: Correctly identifies it as descriptive statistics because the results of the class are described without making any generalizations about the population of all students at the school.

Answer:

D. Descriptive statistics; The results of the class sample are described without making any generalizations about the population of all students at the school.