Higher Education · Data Science & Statistics
Descriptive Statistics
What is it
Descriptive statistics summarises and describes the main features of a data set using measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode), measures of spread (range, variance, standard deviation), and visualisations, without drawing conclusions beyond the data itself.
Why it matters
Descriptive statistics is the essential first step of any data analysis — before any model or test can be trusted, the data itself has to be understood, summarised, and checked for anything unusual, making this the foundation every data science project is built on.
Exam tip
Always report a measure of spread alongside a measure of central tendency, never one without the other — two data sets can share the same mean while looking completely different, and the standard deviation or range is what reveals that difference.
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