In: Statistics and Probability
Our reading in Lane (2016), Chapter 1, compares and contrasts some aspects of both descriptive and inferential statistics. Our DeVore (2012) text also highlights these issues in the first chapter. Consider the different impacts that these two aspects of statistics will have on your role as an engineer.
Discuss how these two branches of statistics will provide different capabilities and impacts in your engineering discipline. Provide an example of an area where you might use descriptive statistics to better understand a variable, as well as an example of an area where inferential statistics might be needed to draw some conclusion from a set of variables data that you have. Do you see both descriptive and inferential statistics being necessary for your future success as an engineer? Explain your reasons for that opinion.
SOLUTION :
Given That ,
Key Differences Between Descriptive and Inferential Statistics:
The difference between descriptive and inferential statistics can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:
Ex. Of 350 randomly selected people in the town of Luserna, Italy, 280 people had the last name Nicolussi. An example of descriptive statistics is the following statement :
"80% of these people have the last name Nicolussi."
Ex. Of 350 randomly selected people in the town of Luserna, Italy, 280 people had the last name Nicolussi. An example of inferential statistics is the following statement :
"80% of all people living in Italy have the last name Nicolussi."
We have no information about all people living in Italy, just about the 350 living in Luserna. We have taken that information and generalized it to talk about all people living in Italy. The easiest way to tell that this statement is not descriptive is by trying to verify it based upon the information provided.
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