In the following question, identify which choices would be considered inferential statistics and which would be considered inferential statistics.
On the last three Friday evening, City hospital diagnosed a number of heroin overdoses. There were four on 1/14/20xx, two on 1/21/20xx, and six on 1/28/20xx.
a) "City Hospital averaged four herion overdoses in their ER for the last three Firday evenings"
b) "City Hospital never has more than six herion overdoses on Friday evenings"
c) "Friday nights are the busiest time for herion overdoses at City Hospital"
To determine which choices in the given question would be considered descriptive statistics and which would be considered inferential statistics, let's first understand the difference between the two.
Descriptive statistics: These statistics summarize and describe the features or characteristics of a dataset. They provide a summary of the data and help in understanding the patterns, trends, and central tendencies within the dataset.
Inferential statistics: These statistics make inferences or conclusions about a population based on the analysis of a sample. They aim to generalize the findings from a sample to a larger population and test hypotheses or make predictions.
Now let's analyze each choice:
a) "City Hospital averaged four heroin overdoses in their ER for the last three Friday evenings"
This statement is describing the average number of heroin overdoses in the City Hospital's ER for the last three Friday evenings. It is a descriptive statistic because it summarizes and provides information about the dataset itself.
b) "City Hospital never has more than six heroin overdoses on Friday evenings"
This statement makes a claim about the maximum number of heroin overdoses on Friday evenings at City Hospital. It is also a descriptive statistic as it presents a characteristic of the dataset.
c) "Friday nights are the busiest time for heroin overdoses at City Hospital"
This statement generalizes that Friday nights are the busiest time for heroin overdoses at City Hospital. It is an inferential statistic as it draws conclusions or generalizations about a larger population based on the analysis of the sample dataset.
To summarize:
- Choice a) is a descriptive statistic.
- Choice b) is also a descriptive statistic.
- Choice c) is an inferential statistic.
Remember, inferential statistics require statistical analysis and reasoning to make conclusions or predictions about a population based on the sample data available. Descriptive statistics, on the other hand, summarize and describe the characteristics of the available data without making any inferences or generalizations.