¶ … statistics statistics and inferential statistics.
Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics are used for different types of designs. For example, correlational studies will utilize descriptive statistics to measure a set of data's central tendency along with the way variables vary and relate to one another. A Pearson r would be a type of descriptive statistics test conducted to evaluate the strength of the relationship or if there relation goes in any one direction but descriptive statistics can also be used in causal-comparative design studies to measure data variability (Statistics for the non-statistician, n.d., p. 70). Inferential statistics on the other hand are used to compare means (typically a t-test is conducted) and statistical significance is determined by whether the p value is > or < than alpha (commonly .05) (Statistics for the non-statistician, n.d., p. 61).
Another way to think of descriptive statistics is that they are "used to synthesize and describe data" by providing inedexes/parameters based on a sample of averages/percentages "calculated with data from a population...
215). Inferential statistics allow the research to infer something about the population sampled.
2. Discuss the statistical decision rules,
hypothesis testing, type I and type II errors
Statistical decision rules refer to the procedures that a researcher might use in order to assess if he should reject or accept his hypothesis. Hypothesis testing is used to determine whether a question about a population is answered one way or another. A researcher will have a hypothesis and an opposite null hypothesis, which will be tested using variables and controls. Type I error is committed when a null hypothesis is rejected that is actually true and a Type II error is committed when a null hypothesis is accepted that is actually false.
3. Interpret descriptive statistics in a research article. ( you can used any article appropriate to answer this question)just make sure the article is listed in the reference section and I can have access to the article.
Dormann et al. (2012) use descriptive analysis in their study on collinearity using Pearson r-test. Their findings show that predictor variables of r > 0.7 "was an appropriate indicator when collinearity begins to severely distort model estimation and subsequent prediction" (p. 1).
4. Identify the inferential statistics used in a research article. ( you can used any article appropriate to answer this question)just make sure the article is listed in the reference section and I can have…
