An essay on descriptive statistics is usually used to describe the major characteristics of a given set of data. The aim of these essays is to summarize a set of data instead of using that data to learn about what it represents. An essay on descriptive statistics is presented alongside other forms of statistics essays such as inferential statistics since in most cases sample sizes need to be quoted and presented to give accurate and realistic data. When writing this kind of statistics essay, it is important to consider the degrees of central tendencies since they form the basis of the essay. The choice and method of description largely depends on the type of data involved. Descriptive statistics essays go hand in hand with doing the calculations to get the required measures. It is the measures that form the core of the descriptions.
An essay on descriptive statistics is generally used when describing a large scale observation. However, caution should be taken when describing such data since the original data is liable to distortion and loss of crucial details. When writing descriptive statistics essays common statistical summaries are used. When writing a statistics essay of the descriptive type, the hypothesis and descriptive statistics should be related. Tables and graphs must be given clear and distinct titles that are reflected in the graphs. The essays should be written in continuous prose since they complement the graphs. Essays focusing on descriptive statistics have been used widely to describe groups of data, mostly numerical, in different fields such as population, et al. Essays on descriptive statistics are employed to provide basic summaries concerning a given sample and related measures. With the aid of simple graphic representations, they form the foundation of other analytical approaches to data.
Descriptive Statistics essay example
Descriptive statistics mainly describes a given population or sample by summing up the features of given data about that same population or sample. Descriptive statistics provides a powerful summary of populations but may lead to incorrect or misguided generalizations about a given population of sample.
Any given form of statistics is meant to provide a representation of a population or sample with as close proximity to the actual reality facing that same population or sample as possible (Patel, 2010). Anything less than that defeats the purpose of the research and descriptive statistics may fall into this category.
Descriptive statistics overly utilizes single indicators to describe an entire population. These indicators usually include the measures of central tendency commonly referred to as the mean, mode and median. However, this ignores other key underlying factors especially qualitative factors that may have been affecting the population. Furthermore, since these single indicators are mostly used for comparative purposes then it may lead to wrongful comparisons and generalizations across populations.
For example, if the mean average scores of pupils from a high income neighborhood match the mean average scores of pupils from a low income neighborhood then the performance levels are the same across the neighborhoods. However, these descriptive statistics are misleading (Mikanh, 2009). The social economic hurdles facing the two neighborhoods are fundamentally different. Since resource allocation and social factors such as effective parenting and teaching are different then the level of performance students use to achieve the same test scores is also different but not captured in descriptive statistics.
This example clearly demonstrates the dangers associated with relying on descriptive statics alone and may prompt researchers to be more careful when making generalizations about any given population relying solely on descriptive statistics.