DESCRIPTIVE
VS. INFERENTIAL ANALYSIS
Descriptive
=
describe a variable in a sample or population: mean, median, mode, std. dev,
range, % in categories of a variable
Descriptive
Analysis = univariate statistics: central tendency, dispersion
Inferential = using a sample to determine if a relationship between two or more variables exists in a population. (Making an inference)
Bivariate
and multivariate analyses
Inferential Analysis = crosstabs (proportion tests), means tests, correlations, regression.
Inferential analysis is done via hypothesis testing.
Need to choose which inferential analysis to do based on level of measurement of independent and dependent variable(s).
| IV | DV | Analysis | Distribution Assumptions |
| categorical | categorical | crosstabs | Few |
| categorical | continuous | means tests | DV Normal |
| continuous | continuous | correlation | IV and DV Normal |