If you summarize data using measures like mean and standard deviation, you are applying which type of statistics?

• A. Inferential statistics
• B. Descriptive statistics
• C. Data capture
• D. Variable (statistics)

Answer: (B)

Descriptive statistics describe the dataset you have. When you use measures like the mean and standard deviation, you’re summarizing central tendency and spread for that specific set of data. The mean gives a typical value in the data, while the standard deviation shows how spread out the values are around that average. This kind of summary stays with the data you collected and doesn’t make claims about a larger population.

Inferential statistics, by contrast, would use the sample to make inferences or draw conclusions about a broader group, often involving probability, confidence intervals, or hypothesis tests. The other terms aren’t standard categories for this idea—data capture is about collecting data, not summarizing it with these statistics, and “variable statistics” isn’t a recognized type of statistics.

So, using mean and standard deviation to summarize data is descriptive statistics.