Descriptive Statistics



One important use of descriptive statistics is to summarize a collection of data in a clear and understandable way. For example, assume a psychologist gave a personality test measuring shyness to all 2500 students attending a small college. How might these measurements be summarized? There are two basic methods: numerical and graphical. Using the numerical approach one might compute statistics such as the mean and standard deviation. These statistics convey information about the average degree of shyness and the degree to which people differ in shyness. Using the graphical approach one might create a stem and leaf display and a box plot. These plots contain detailed information about the distribution of shyness scores.



Graphical methods are better suited than numerical methods for identifying patterns in the data. Numerical approaches are more precise and objective.

Since the numerical and graphical approaches compliment each other, it is wise to use both.