Question

discuss descriptive and inferential statistics for data analysis for a quantitative study

Answer 1

Descriptive statistics uses the data to provide descriptions of the population as a whole. The description is drawn by using numerical calculations, graphs or tables. It does not allow the researcher to make conclusions beyond the data. It enables the researcher to present the data in a meaningful way such that it draws simpler interpretation of the data.

Common tools of descriptive statistics are measures of Central tendency for example mean or the median, Dispersion, Skewness etc

Inferential statistics makes inferences about the larger population by taking data from a sample fro this population.
The objective of inferential statistics is to draw conclusions from a sample and to generalize them to a population. Confidence is required to ensure that the sample accurately reflects the population.

Common methodologies in inferential statistics are hypothesis tests, regression analysis, confidence intervals etc.