June 22 - Descriptive Statistics

We are now to the final part of research prospectus paper. This is the analysis part of the Design and Analysis subsection of the Method section of your paper. We have previously discussed one type of analysis, which is used in qualitative studies. This type is known as content analysis, which is where you create, revise, and label categories based upon narrative data. Today, we will be examining descriptive statistics, which form the basic statistics for all quantitative approaches.

Descriptive statistics include:

1. Measures of Central Tendency - these measures show how the scores in a set of scores "come together." Measures of central tendency include the mean, the median, and the mode.


2. Measures of Variability - these measures show how the scores in a set of scores "spread apart." Measures of variability include the range, the standard deviation, and the variance (the standard deviation squared).


3. Measures of Relative Position and Relationship - these measures include correlation coefficients, percentile ranks, and other such scores. They show relationships and relative positions of scores achieved.

These descriptive statistics form the basis for the next set of statistics that we will discuss - inferential statistics. Inferential statistics are used when statistical comparisons are made concerning, in particular, means and variances. Inferential statistics are only calculated in experimental and causal-comparative studies. However, descriptive statistics are necessary for any type of quantitative study whether it be descriptive, correlational, causal-comparative, or experimental.

Please return to Blackboard to begin this exploration of descriptive statistics. The information there will be of use to you whether you are doing descriptive, correlational, causal-comparative, or experimental research.