Abstract
This chapter examines some of the issues raised in the previous chapter concerning demographic information about participants. One of the first steps a researcher takes in the analysis of data is to generate descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics simply describe the data provided by the participants. This can be contrasted with inferential statistics where data analysis can lead to conclusions about the population under consideration. Descriptive statistics are generated by computer software, such as SPSS, and help the researcher become familiar with the data. The chapter is about reporting descriptive statistics in a quantitative research text.
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Further reading
Field, A., & Hole, G. (2003). How to design and report experiments. London: Sage.
Lowie, W., & Seton, B. (2013). Essential statistics for Applied Linguistics. Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan.
Pallant, J. (2010). SPSS survival manual. Maidenhead: Open University.
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© 2014 Lindy Woodrow
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Woodrow, L. (2014). Presenting Descriptive Statistics. In: Writing about Quantitative Research in Applied Linguistics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230369955_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230369955_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-230-36997-9
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